Addicted
by Aveira
Summary: Takes place four years after DoC. She's addicted to him, he belongs to someone else... VincentxOC VincentxYuffie rated for adult themes...COMPLETE!
1. Greetings

_**A/N:I simply felt 'in the mood' to write something else about my favorite pair. Just a little summary…or whatever…this is four years after, Vincent has a personality that is neither dark nor dreary. I'm aiming for a sort of quiet type with a bit of a twist…yeah, I know…he's way out in left field now…or worse. **_

_**x.X.x**_

'_Greetings'_

Four years had come and gone since the fall of Deepground and Weiss. Hojo was finally truly dead and Chaos had returned to the planet, taking Omega with him. The hero's had all gone their separate ways, some for better and some not so much. They still stayed in touch via the WRO. Occasionally there were gatherings, always small, and they were able to reconnect again.

Tifa had taken up caring for the Church Aeris left behind, essentially rebuilding it from the ground up. It was nearly returned to its former glory, the floor was still gutted in two places, and at Tifa's insistence, that was how it would remain. One hole was overflowing with the lilies that only seemed to grow in that building and absolutely nowhere else in the world. The other was a bubbling spring, the very one that had saved the world from Geostigma. Tifa adamantly refused having either of those places even touched; they were sacred to those who knew her.

Cloud had taken a job working with Reeve as well as serving as Tifa's delivery service. He was a commander in the WRO, working alongside Cid, Barret, and Vincent. Cid had quit smoking and Barret had finally settled down with Elmyra, who was expecting her first child. It did not come as a galloping shock that it was both a girl, and named after the Cetra. Aeris would be born in early spring and everyone made plans to be there.

Yuffie had taken a drastic turn, and not necessarily a bad one. She'd begged Godo to release her of her duties to Wutai, so in her place a cousin stepped in…Tseng, former Turk and right hand man to none other than the son of the man who destroyed Wutai. It had been a controversial exchange of power, and yet the people of Wutai accepted, if not welcomed, the young heiress' decision and made little in the way of complaining. If there had been complaint about a Turk ruling Wutai it was soon overlooked as the new Emperor immediately threw all his attention and resources into the rebirth of Wutai. He was fair, Yuffie knew that, and logical…which was an obvious quality he'd had from very early on, given his chosen profession. It wasn't for lack of love in Wutai; Yuffie had found another path she truly felt called to follow, working for Reeve and on a more global scale, which really fit her and her insatiable appetite for travel, as well as giving her an opportunity to stay in close contact with all her friends.

Rufus had donated substantial amounts of gil toward the Wutaian restoration fund and had pulled all his fathers former tourist gimmicks, vowing never to let anyone disgrace Wutai again. Yuffie, for her part, had become the Chief Intelligence Officer of the WRO, Reeve's second in command, and the primary negotiator between all nations…most notably Wutai. She'd bloomed into a talented and beautiful woman, a far cry from the thieving teen ninja they'd met five years ago. She'd grown into herself, her hair now fell just passed her shoulders, she'd grown another few inches, she'd become the epitome of beauty in the WRO, a beautiful, exotic, intelligent young woman. She often surprised everyone with her intense sense of duty and professionalism she expressed while working for Reeve.

For years many assumed she and Reeve had been involved, given their constant close proximity. Those rumors were put to rest, however, when Reeve announced his engagement to Shelke Rui earlier in the year. Yuffie kept in relatively close contact with everyone, constantly keeping tabs on Cloud and Vincent. She was the glue that held the group together now, acting as a sort of medium for most.

x.X.x

Spring was well on its way, Yuffie could tell the air was starting to warm and flowers were beginning to bloom. She'd been traveling most of the winter months, checking up on Barret and his oil refineries. Oil would soon take over as the new source of energy for all mechanical implements, which in turn would relieve the stress on the planet that mako energy had caused. She also made her way to Rocket Town to check in on Cid and his aeronautical research facility, Cloud and Tifa's bar/delivery business was really taking off, Tifa had never seemed so happy as she did then and there with Cloud constantly near by.

She was going to make her monthly stop in Nibelheim to visit Vincent and then would normally head back to HQ to update Reeve. She'd just made it to the old town, and after three days of camping and riding she was good and ready for as shower and some sleep. She approached the old mansion; smiling at how beautiful it was now that it was fully restored. New paint, a decent fence, and even a garden all made it seem like a real home as opposed to the tomb it once had been.

She knocked twice, tucking her hair behind her ear, her clothes still smelled of camp fire and earth. She'd worn a green t-shirt and loose black pants she'd bought in Rocket Town, emblazoned on the side read 'Highwind Aeronautical Design, inc.' they were her pride and joy and she wore them proudly.

Without fail her nerves would kick in every visit, and only just at the moment she had to knock. Well…maybe she felt nervous every time she came to see the gunman, she couldn't quite decide. As it was, nothing had changed where her feelings toward him were concerned. She was still attracted to him, and it never got any easier. She'd see him for a day or two, discuss politics, food, the latest fashions of Junon…none of which interested either, but the silence was, for once, too much for either of them. She'd come here this time with a goal, to bury her feelings once and for all. This time she'd managed to make it before dusk, unusual for her seeing as she usually didn't show up until midnight or in the wee hours of morning, which never seemed to catch Vincent by surprise. He'd always been awake when she'd come calling.

The door knob clicked a few times before the door slowly opened, revealing a man in black cargo pants and a fitted black t-shirt. She nearly gawked at him, he looked amazing in normal clothes, though she _was_ somewhat biased. He could walk around naked as a jaybird and still look great to her. His body aged, much slower than most of the others, herself included. Cloud, Tifa, and he had all experienced massive amounts of mako poisoning and it had caused their cells to regenerate at an incredible speed, thus allowing them to stay young longer, which Yuffie didn't much mind; it meant she'd have someone to grow old with as opposed to playing catch-up.

"Hey, Vince, how's life?" He offered a small smile as she greeted him the same way she did every time for the last four years.

"I am well, Yuffie, come in." He motioned for her to enter, closing the door carefully behind her. "How have you been these last weeks?" He made to offer her tea, which she nodded enthusiastically.

"I've been…tired." Her face fell slightly, as if simply saying the word encouraged the feeling. "I need a break." He nodded in understanding.

"That would not be a bad idea, you work yourself too hard with all your traveling." The rich timbre of his voice always struck a chord in her, what's more was the fact that he showed concern for her, something he didn't typically offer the others.

"I plan to; just don't know where I'll go. Home, maybe? I guess I could ask Cid to shoot me off into space…mmm, to be that far away from work!" She laughed lightly as she spoke, her voice like bells on summer breeze, refreshing to any soul, tortured or otherwise. What was better than her laugh was his, a low chuckle that she could almost feel from somewhere inside.

"I have a feeling he'd support the idea." He set a small mug of tea before her, offering her sugar.

"No thanks, I'm sweet enough." She replied with a cheeky grin. "What about you? Are you going to travel any time soon?" She took a sip, savoring the bitter earthy flavor, suddenly missing Wutai more in that moment than she had in the last year she'd been away. "I'd like to travel…" She remarked a bit offhandedly, the cliffs of Da Chao looming in her memory and she could almost smell the sea.

"It had been a thought…" He led her to the living room, motioning for her to sit with him on the couch. "I would like to go back up to the Northern Crater." Yuffie had a hard time sitting still; though from all outward appearances she seemed cool, calm, and collected.

"It has been quite a while, hasn't it?" She sipped her tea, smiling at the warm feeling it gave her. She could suddenly smell the dirt and sweat she was covered in. "Whew, I need a shower. Has the Inn been busy? Maybe I'll get a room and shower…" She waved her hand under her nose with a look of disgust.

"You are welcome to shower here, though I haven't any clean clothes that would fit you." Vincent gave a cursory once over, sizing her up as she sat there. "You've lost weight." It was more of a statement than a question, he eyed her with something akin to approval, her body was obviously in peek physical condition, again a far cry from the lanky girl she'd once been.

"I have? Well I brought my things with me, I didn't anticipate staying here, figured I'd be on the go just as soon as I said 'hi', gosh I haven't stopped much since-"A ring from the other room startled her enough to make her spill her tea, she cursed under her breath as she jumped up from the couch. Vincent chuckled at her, taking a towel sitting on a nearby table and dabbing her thigh where she'd spilled. She smiled back at him, carefully placing her hand over his, wiping her leg down herself as he left to answer his phone. He returned a moment later with a frown.

"What seems to be the problem, Mr. Valentine?" Yuffie quirked an eyebrow up at him, he smiled strangely at her.

"Mr. Valentine? When have I ever been _that_ to you?" He looked back at the black phone in his hand. "It was Juno; I was expected to see her this evening." Yuffie felt her knees go weak, and were it not for her excellent skills in deception he may have noticed.

"Hm, am I keeping you? I have to be going anyways." She didn't quite rush passed him, but she hurried quickly enough to miss the strange glance he gave her. "Well, I'll let you get back to what you were doing, thank-"

"What seems to be the problem, _Miss Kisaragi_?" Vincent lifted an eyebrow at her, smirking at her flustered behavior. She gave him a confused frown before laughing at him.

"Nothing, Vincent, nothing at all." She offered him a hug, which he warmly accepted. Now, to assume that this had been a common occurrence between the two would be incorrect. It had only been the last few times she'd seen him that he'd actually allowed her to touch him in such a way, the laughing had been the first change, then the jovial attitude, which she was apparently the only one privy to, and finally he surprised her by letting her hug him. "I'll call next time; sorry if I set you back." He smiled down at her, his hands resting on her hips. Unbeknownst to her, he had been toiling away in his mind. Everything about him was so different, and every year he changed and opened up a little more. Four years had seen him through a few drastic changes, his first hair cut in thirty six years, well maybe less…Yuffie wasn't one for numbers. Hers had grown longer, his grew shorter, she'd blossomed into a fanatical workaholic, he began to look forward to her visits…she smiled _differently_ at him and he _felt_ a sense of something akin to joy every time he noticed it. In fact she'd done many things just for him; things he hadn't realized were so intimate until much later. Cooking for him, cleaning when she stopped by, he fell ill with the flu one year and she was there in a heartbeat, taking care of him without complaint or expecting any sort of compensation…which was unusual for the little thief. He realized a little too late that she felt more than friendship toward him, and that did make him nervous. He always did something foolish when he was uncomfortable.

"If you would like to accompany me to the Northern Crater, I would enjoy the company, that is if you don't mind being interrupted every so often." He held the phone up in some sort of explanation. "Juno expects updates regularly."

"I…I wouldn't want to intrude on anything, Vince. She might be uncomfortable with you traveling with a young woman, or at least I would be." She eyed Vincent oddly a moment.

"She doesn't worry about such things." Vincent's voice had an odd tone and Yuffie realized he felt a little guilty speaking of the budding relationship between himself and Juno. "She is a scientist working on a cure for mako poisoning; I was asked to head up to the crater and retrieve some samples. I was expected to meet her and some of her colleagues this evening to go over some of the details." Yuffie stared thoughtfully at him a moment longer, he could almost see the wheels turning as she mulled over the chance to go out on a pseudo adventure.

"When would we leave? I'll have to get a few things out of the way first, I would need at least three weeks or more before I could even think of going with you." Her expression fell at the thought of him not being around in a month when she came calling.

"She hasn't set a date yet so I do believe you'll have time. In the mean time you may stay here, if you wish." Vincent said slowly, nodding to himself as he worked out the sentence.

"She won't mind me tagging along?" Yuffie's eyes lit up in excitement.

"Of course not, you'd be a welcome addition, and I would appreciate the help." Vincent glared at the phone as it rang in his hand. "She's rather…persistent…though." He muttered darkly.

"Well, she doesn't sound _anything_ like me now does she?" Yuffie giggled as Vincent chuckled and stuffed the offending phone back into his pocket. She didn't think he'd noticed his hand still resting comfortably on her hip and she wasn't about to tell him to move it.

Vincent smiled, hiding the thoughts running through his head as he stood there, eyeing Yuffie out of the corner of one eye. She'd grown, that much was obvious; she'd replaced much of her childish physique with well toned muscle. At nineteen she'd accomplished more than most had in their entire lives. Saved the planet, twice, ruled an entire nation alone for a short while, was Reeve's right hand girl, and had turned out to be a rather spectacular spy. And now at twenty three she was a master of disguise, a clever thief, and an intelligent and well spoken diplomat. Though the spying and thieving had been useful prior to Deepground, she often found clever ways to hone her skills. She was taller, reaching just under his chin, and her hair was catching up to Tifa's in length, though much straighter and certainly darker. Her hair was the color of coal, dark enough that it seemed to almost absorb light. Her form was…agreeable. She'd grown into her body finally and was no longer an awkward teenager but a graceful young woman. Currently he had a hand resting on one of her shapely hips, he hadn't realized it had landed there when she stepped back a moment ago, but he also made no motion to move it.

She was staring at him, the way she did when she had something she really wanted to say but wouldn't. He knew if he asked what was on her mind she'd lie, she often did to him. He couldn't for the life of him figure out why. He had always prided himself on being the one and only person she confided her deepest darkest secrets in, and now there was something she wouldn't tell him, or maybe she couldn't. She could be in some sort of trouble and didn't want him involved. He wouldn't have that; he'd demand she tell him what was wrong…that usually did the trick. He didn't know what it was, but she'd never been one to deny him much…save his coffin. She'd burned that not even a day after the defeat of Sephiroth.

"No looking back…" She'd said that she'd done it to stop him from going back to a life of nothing. He had something, she'd said, something that was worth living for…he didn't know what, but she seemed fairly convinced of herself so he'd gone with it.

"At what?" Yuffie made to turn, controlling a chill that suddenly made its way up her spine at the feeling of metal tips trailing across her skin.

"What's that?" Vincent removed his hand, tucking it into his pocket.

"You said 'no looking back' and had a weird look on your face, did you see something?" She turned again, staring out the window. "Should I go? This is kind of an off day for me too; I think maybe I came by to early." He smirked at that.

"You are here much earlier than your usual time." He replied, nodding in emphasis. "Well I am not due out until seven, feel free to shower and clean up if you need." Vincent nodded toward the upstairs. "Towels are in the cabinet in the bathroom." Yuffie nodded, taking in one last look at him before turning and making her way upstairs. She was glad to be invited on his little trip, especially to the crater, but she was moderately concerned about meeting another scientist with an affinity for mako. It had been her experience that they were either crazy or heartless…or both. The fact that Lucrecia had been one such scientist hadn't helped any either, Yuffie felt her heart still hammering away in her chest, just the thought that this woman could…could? Vincent was a good looking guy, could wasn't the operative word here. She was more worried at how far their relationship had made it. _'Is she pretty? Does he see her often? How come he didn't say anything last month? Or the months before? This can't be just a spur of the moment thing…' _That floating feeling Yuffie usually had around Vincent had gone and she felt like a burden again. This wasn't how today was supposed to go…

x.X.x

She focused on the warm water; maybe she was just exhausted after working too hard for the last year? She stood motionless as she watched the dirt melt off her skin and spiral downward through the drain.

"Stupid girl…stupid, stupid girl…" Yuffie muttered, sitting on the cool tile of the shower.

Vincent passed the room she was in, stopped, and went back in. He had taken her bag upstairs and placed it in her room, just the fact that she had her own room never ceased to amaze him. How she'd wound up with it was, in his mind, her greatest display of ninja ability he'd ever been privy to. The bag rattled and made some clanging noises much like the sound of heavy metal on metal, curious he opened the bag. A dismantled shuriken sat there. It was made of dark steel, adamantine or some sort of infused metal by his guess. He imagined what the thing would look like were it all in one piece. The blades at the edges curved out much like a throwing star, however each tip split down the middle. In the center of each tip of the star like points were jagged, almost tooth like, edges. This was by far the worst of Yuffie's assassin stars yet. He could smell some sort of poison, and anything she used was generally fatal even if one had a mere scratch from the weapon. This shuriken looked…evil.

"It's called 'Darkstar' and it isn't evil, it's old." Yuffie spoke softly, Vincent turned slowly to look at her with mild concern. She was still in an oversized towel, leaning on the door frame. Her hair was braided and hung over her shoulder, she smiled softly at him. "I've never used it until this last month. It was my mothers forever ago when she was young, and no she wasn't an assassin…she was a ninja like me." Yuffie spoke in a softer voice than usual, which lead Vincent to believe that this was difficult ground for Yuffie to cover.

"You never speak of your mother…" He remarked, his voice reverberated off the walls and through her.

"Hm, I never really had cause to. She died when I was very young, my father raised me and I turned out like…" She gestured at herself with a hand. "She taught me to throw a shuriken, throwing star, and some two weapon stuff…but I was nine when she passed. She'd contracted the Consumption from some gaijin passing through." Yuffie spit the word out like it was poison. "We had never had that kind of disease afflict our own, we were beyond ill equipped…she really didn't stand a chance once we discovered she was ill." Vincent stood motionless, watching her carefully. Yet another thing he assumed only he and Lord Godo knew about her…

"…I believe you've become an intelligent, successful woman. Your mother would be proud to see you now." Vincent bowed his head slightly, taking his leave and allowing her to dress. She made her way to the spot he was standing; she could almost smell him, an earthy musk that made her head spin. _'He complimented me…'_ the thought floated around her head for days afterwards, which made it easier to face the fact that Vincent did indeed feel more than the professional sort of feelings toward Dr. Juno. She'd seen the way he sat talking to her, relaxed, laughing easily with the beautiful woman. She'd been very polite to Yuffie, asking how she'd feel about traveling back to the crater, and thanking her for assisting _'Mr. Valentine'_ on his endeavor. She missed, completely, the small smile of pride Vincent could hardly contain every time Yuffie spoke. Eloquent, polite, beyond well spoken and she had truly impressed Dr. Juno with her vast knowledge of Mako and the effects on the body. Furthermore, it was a delight, to the doctor and Vincent, to hear Yuffie fully supported the project and if need be would bring it up with Reeve.

Vincent had never been one to feel or express much, if anything, the last thirty some odd years. Prior to being shot, possessed, and locked in a coffin and left for dead…or undead depending on how one looked at the situation…he was a rather expressive young man. He was hot headed, ran his mouth, and generally led with his heart. Yuffie expressed every one of his faults and made them into some of her most desirable attributes. He felt accomplished, hearing her talk at length with Dr. Juno. Ever since she'd started visiting him, they'd begun to have long talks about anything and everything, not that he'd been particularly interested in most of the conversation, but there were times when he realized she'd been listening to him and picking up little things he had been talking about…she'd listened and learned a lot from him by the look of things and that in itself was a gift she hadn't even known she'd given him.

x.X.x

The first week had been spent not seeing much of one another. He heard maybe two or three words out of her at a time and she was busy twenty five of the twenty four hours a day, but her energy never seemed to leave her. She remained happy and upbeat, finding time to enjoy a cup of tea with Vincent at night and calling home every other day to check in on her father and Tseng.

"Yes, Reeve, as a matter of fact I did take care of everything. No, I- No…damn you, Reeve, shut the hell up!" Yuffie snapped at the phone in her hand. "Well, Leviathan's holy hide, let me talk will you?!"

Vincent chuckled at her from his seat in a rather comfortable chair beside the fire, not so completely engrossed in the novel sized packet of information Juno had last given him. She rolled her eyes at him, pointed exasperatedly at the phone.

"Yes, yes I'm well aware of the- no that isn't- no, I believe we could only _further _our research with-but-and-…" Yuffie held the phone away from her ear, took a sip of tea, and smiled winningly over at Vincent. The sounds of Reeve protesting whatever argument Yuffie had been trying to make sounded oddly meek from the receiver of the phone. "I swear he argues just for the sake of arguing." She remarked at Vincents slight upturned lip and quirked eyebrow. "He thinks I should not go to the crater, there couldn't possibly be anything of value-" The phone made a noise of protest. "Sorry, I didn't catch that last part. No…FOR THE LOVE OF LEVIATHAN IT'S FOR TWO DAMN DAYS!" Vincent smiled at her as she continued to convince Reeve he'd live without her for two days. He knew she was a vital part of the WRO, he didn't realize Reeve was incapable of functioning without her, it rather amused him to see the former technology guru throwing a rather childish fit over Yuffie taking her first two days off in four years.

"Don't you just _get_ time off?" Vincent queried from his seat without looking up.

"Apparently not…" Yuffie whispered back, rather amused herself. "Ok…will do, thanks Reeve." She flung the phone away from her person, not caring who or what it struck in its haphazard flight across the room behind her. "Seriously…I think I may just take up a job flipping Chocoburgers after this crap…" He smiled at her reassuringly but said nothing. "Quit smiling all the damn time, makes you seem like you're freaking happy and full of good feelings." Yuffie smirked to herself, laying out on the couch with her eyes closed. Vincent eyed her a moment before speaking.

"Maybe I am happy." He replied simply. She didn't have a sarcastic reply for him this time, she simply smiled and lay quietly enjoying his company, silently thanking every god she could name for giving her the chance to hear him say those three magic words.

'_He's happy…finally.'_ She stood, excusing herself for bed, and heading up the stairs to do just that. Sleep.

_**A/N: **__Seriously, this is the worst crap I've written yet. I'll likely delete it soon, but I felt the urge to post it even though it is grossly unfinished and in desperate need of refinement. Flame away, I'll understand XD_


	2. Touch

_**A/N: I know what you're thinking…real cheese doesn't come from a can! No? Ok, how about…'oh dear lord, not another chapter!' My apologies, if you like it then I'm completely surprised, the more I read this the more I hate it…I just don't know where exactly I was going with it, except of course for the completely and totally unnecessary smut scene towards the end…**_

x.X.x

The last two weeks were horrible, Yuffie came back every night tired and aching from all the work she'd done. Sometimes it was tracking a person from one place to another, others it was just a shit load of paper work. She was usually exhausted and sore when she arrived, taking longer and longer hot showers. Vincent wasn't normally one to worry, but he feared if she didn't find a way to rejuvenate her body soon she wouldn't make it in the crater.

She'd been working double time just to make all her deadlines for Reeve and give herself the time she would need for her expedition with Vincent. She was worn out, tired, sore, and once again at the gunman's door step. She twisted the knob, dragging her feet through the front door. She was surprised to see him standing in the archway leading to the kitchen, leaning there as if he'd been waiting all this time for her. Clothed in nothing more than a black pair of his favorite cargo pants, he turned and grabbed for something behind him only to turn around and hand her a cup of tea, no sugar, piping hot, and extra strong…She smiled weakly at him, accepting the proffered mug with a whispered 'thank you' before dragging herself to the couch. She sat hunched over, obviously aching from the several long weeks and longer days she'd been pushing herself through. And though Vincent would never utter the words in present company, he was rather surprised and quite impressed by the young woman's tenacity and will power. She wanted to go to the crater and instead of just up and leaving, as she would have in the past, she made arrangements with Reeve, was now finished with a good months worth of work, and had the time she was so desperate for off.

"Sweet Leviathan, I thought today wasn't going to end…" Yuffie mumbled from the couch. Not for the first time Vincent thanked his enhanced hearing and made a noise of assent.

"You've worked very hard these last few weeks." He replied in his usual monotone. She smiled at him, grateful he understood. "You should shower and get packed; we'll have to leave early tomorrow to get ahead of the weather." Yuffie nodded half heartedly; just the thought of a shower had her on cloud nine. She finished her tea and placed the cup in the sink. She brushed past him, whispering an apology as she did, pausing momentarily in the doorway they now occupied. She glanced up at him, he watched her with calm unblinking eyes. She was caught for a moment, focusing on his crimson eyes and pitch black hair falling around his face. Slowly a smile crept to the corners of his mouth before he backed out of her way and let her through the arch way.

For three weeks she'd lived with him, and though she'd had very little time to sleep, let alone wonder about the lone gunman, she'd felt him nearby all the time. It was a strange comfort for her, and yet she could think of few other people or places she'd want to be near. It hadn't been easy; she'd thought that maybe her feelings would temper slightly by spending more time with him, or at least she wouldn't get the fluttery sensation every time he touched her. It had been hell, not to put to fine a point on it, and every day Juno called about something new, or nothing at all. That had been the hardest part for Yuffie, he'd speak in that low voice so kindly to the woman on the other end and it ate her up a little more each time. She did a terrific job of masking her jealousy, though Vincent's odd behavior the last couple days had been odd and confusing.

He asked her daily if she was alright, made her tea, had forced her down on the couch more than once, not for any of the things Yuffie might have wanted him to force her down for, but a massage was a much needed and equally rare treat from the normally solitary and once cold hearted gunman. _'What a difference demons can make.' _Yuffie thought idly as they stood by one another in the scant light of his dinning room. He wasn't by any stretch of the imagination friendly or outgoing, but he smiled around his true friends and laughed among them.

She drug her feet up to her room, grabbed a large towel on the way and made a bee line for the shower, leaving a trail of clothes as she went. Yuffie stood in the shower, relishing the feeling of hot water soothing her aching muscles, much like tiny fingers massaging her back. She thought of Vincent, the way he looked at her for the briefest moment. She figured it could've been all in her head; she was very tired after all and could have easily just made the whole moment up.

He was tragically beautiful, the blood red eyes, long flowing inky black hair, the scars from head to toe…he was incredible despite what he considered to be obvious 'flaws' in his body. She could still feel the other three demons buried somewhere within him. He had complete control over them now, with Chaos gone they no longer had free will, or really any will at all. They were simply different aspects of Vincent himself now.

She turned the water off, an image of Vincent shirtless in his cargo pants burning away anything else she may have had the potential to think about. Her head fell into the palm of her hand, hung low in frustration and sorrow. She couldn't not think of him, he was right there all the damn time, and she couldn't have him…he wanted nothing to do with intimacy. She wasn't his 'target audience' anyway. She was a ninja, a spy, the second in command to the most influential man on Gaia. She was incredible in her own right; just not the kind of incredible Vincent was attracted to.

'_But that look, it can't be just a look, he might…maybe…feel something…' _Yuffie stepped out of the steaming shower, wrapping her lithe frame in an oversized towel. Her body physically ached in his presence; she'd craved him for so long he'd become something of a drug to her.

She ran a hand through her hair in frustration, a knock on her door jar her from her tormented thoughts. She made a noise of surprise before blindly walking to the door and opening it. Crimson eyes shimmered back at her.

"Are you alright?" Vincent intoned, leaning casually against the door frame; he now wore a black tank top of sorts, which was doing little to hide the well sculpted muscles of his arms. His hair was pulled back, giving her a clear view of his face, and his pants hung low on his hips, distracting her momentarily.

"Fine, why? Did I do something?" She shook her head slightly, trying to clear her thoughts. She could smell him and it only served to fuel her proverbial fire. He watched her carefully; for once he looked generally concerned over her well being.

"You've been in here for over two hours…" He remarked as though it were nothing more than a simple irritant. She felt the familiar flutter just standing close to him, and suddenly she was acutely aware of her current state of undress, she felt a tremble run down her spine all the way to her feet, she looked away suddenly.

"I'm sorry, I was tired…guess I lost track of time." She grimaced as she made to rotate her shoulder. Without asking her permission, Vincent strode through the doorway, one hand on her bare shoulder as he led her through to his room. He paused by his bed, contemplating what to do next for a moment.

"Lie down on your stomach." He glanced around briefly before grabbing a pair of his boxers. "Put these on, please." He smirked at her raised eyebrow.

"And just what do you intend to do with me, Vincent?" She chuckled, pulling the garment on easily. They were huge on her, hanging off her narrow hips, but they were incredibly comfortable.

"If I _were _to do anything to you I do believe you'd be taking clothes off…not the other way around." Yuffie gasped slightly, a blush staining her cheeks.

"Wow, I see why you guys wear these now…" She whispered more to herself than anyone else. He smirked again as he disappeared momentarily into the bathroom, coming out with a small bottle some sort of cream.

"It is for muscle aches and pains…" He held the bottle in question up. The sharp scent of menthol caught her slightly off guard as she lay flat on her stomach on his bed. Her mind was spinning, trying to recall any time _ever_ Vincent had willingly laid hands on anyone. She was drawing a blank, he was stand-offish and secluded, and he lived in his own private world, neither wanting nor needing anyone to share it with. Now on three separate occasions he'd done exactly this for her downstairs. For an hour or more he'd work the terrible knots out of her shoulders and back. She was about to ask what she'd done to deserve the 'star' treatment when his hands came down onto her back. She hardly had time to control the moan of delight as he applied just the right amount of pressure between her shoulder blades, instantly easing all the tension she'd had there.

Truthfully, Vincent wasn't all that comfortable touching the young woman. She was beautiful; he knew it wasn't her looks though. She was twenty three now, though he still appeared to be in his late twenties, he certainly _felt_ like he was in his fifties, and age didn't truly matter…an heiress such as herself is usually married by fourteen, a ridiculous tradition he thought but who was he to argue with culture? He never felt _guilty_ about touching her, she'd been through the same hell he had, she was no angel and he'd seen her for the killer and monster she _could_ be…especially where he and the other members of Avalanche were concerned. She'd fight like an animal, pulling out every dirty trick she knew…but that had been a very, _very_ rare occurrence. He closed his eyes a moment, pulling a memory of her fighting to the surface as his hands worked of their own accord, he was faintly aware of a low moan from her and a girlish giggle followed by a hasty apology, he smirked again glad she was at least relaxing a little.

"Sorry, that just feels amazing, Vince. I never knew you had it in you…" Her voice trailed off as he moved lower, easing knotted and gnarled muscles as he went. Each muscle he felt melt beneath his fingers reminded him of every fight she'd been in, whether it was with a DG soldier, a monster on the plains out near Rocket Town, or one of the many brawls she and Reno got into.

"Do not apologize, just relax I'm almost done…" She groaned in protest, earning a slight chuckle from him. "Ever heard the saying 'too much of a good thing'?"

"Whoever said that clearly never had the chance to feel you work your magic…" She sighed as he hit a rather sore spot, using the palm of his hand he leaned forward to put pressure on the area, she could feel his breath against her neck and shoulder. She suppressed the shudder it caused her; it was harder to ignore the fact that he was straddling her backside now though. He pressed just a fraction harder than before, earning a breathless moan from her. She felt her body reacting to him despite her desperate mental pleas that it just pretend that nothing happened. He faltered momentarily and she felt him tense against her, another moan was successfully held back this time, her restraint was wearing thin, though.

"…Vince…you…have to-"It was surreal, the feelings coursing through her. She'd been here three weeks and had been keeping careful tabs on the little exchanges going on between them and had somehow been surprised by what happened next.

She felt his palms caress the soft curve of her hips, his fingers trailing along the rim of his boxers she wore. She grits her teeth as the muscles of his legs reflexively tightened around her thighs and he lowered himself to her shoulders once more, his hot breath dancing across her naked skin. She wanted him to stop teasing her, surely he wasn't nearly as stupid as she was at this, and he had to know what he was doing. She was about to say something when he abruptly pushed down right at the small of her back, forcing the air from her lungs in a grunt, she cringed slightly at the sound of her bones cracking and popping under the sudden force. She felt light and her muscles no longer ached…now the dull throb had centered itself deep within her. She dug her nails into the comforter, biting her tongue to keep from growling in frustration. She felt him chuckle above her, his hands slowly making their way up again, stopping somewhere in the middle of her spine.

"Ready?" He put a little pressure on her to show what he intended to do. She took a deep breath, a strange sensation causing her to blink rapidly as she felt moisture building up behind her eyes.

"…yes." Her voice was slightly hoarse and hardly above a whisper, which caused him to suck in and tense up. She felt the pressure, felt her skin burn as he came a mere breath away from her again and slowly let out the breath she'd been holding. Again he thrust down on her back causing more cracking and popping and another pleased groan from the girl beneath him.

Vincent had to close his eyes, focus on what he was truly trying to do for a moment. He'd gotten a little carried away, though this wasn't technically 'new' territory for him. He wasn't accustomed to being the pursuer. Juno had been the first woman in sixty years to even come close to reminding him that he was a man, a viral, young, and in his dark and dreary sort of way very attractive, _man. _Yuffie groaning beneath him aroused all sorts of things that, oddly enough, Juno couldn't. Their relationship had been put on hold when the little ninja had shown up, Vincent felt awkward being involved with anyone when Yuffie was around, as if he'd been betraying her all this time.

"Do you have any water?" He leaned over and handed her a cup of water he'd brought for himself. "Thank you…by the way, this feels incredible." Yuffie sighed as he set a slow and steady pace at her back, fingers digging into sore muscles and relieving years of built up stress and tension. He leaned sideways, steadying himself by flexing his other leg and gripping her again, this time she buried her face in comforter between her white clenched fists. Vincent felt his heart jump suddenly, adrenaline pumping through him as he slowly settled back against her, radio remote in hand. He turned on whatever Juno had last set the radio at, an oddly appropriate melody floating through. "Oh, I love this song…funny how it seems to suit my pathetic-"He let his finger dig into her tender flesh as he drug them less than gently against her ribs, mostly to avoid accidentally tickling her, and in a way to stop her from saying their situation was pathetic.

_**It's like you're a drug  
It's like you're a demon I can't face down  
It's like I'm stuck  
It's like I'm running from you all the time  
And I know I let you have all the power  
It's like the only company I seek is misery all around  
It's like you're a leech  
Sucking the life from me  
It's like I can't breathe  
Without you inside of me  
And I know I let you have all the power  
And I realize I'm never gonna quit you over time  
**_

She gasped as he let his fingers trail along her sides, right up to the sensitive skin of her breasts. She fought the urge to cry out in frustration as he set a slow and steady pace along her back down to her scantily clad back side. She couldn't think of a time she'd been more ready for a cold shower in her life. He shifted against her, flexing his thighs which caused her to move against him, thus drawing a ragged gasp from the young woman's throat.

_**  
It's like I can't breathe  
It's like I can't see anything  
Nothing but you  
I'm addicted to you  
It's like I can't think  
Without you interrupting me  
In my thoughts  
In my dreams  
You've taken over me  
It's like I'm not me  
It's like I'm not me  
**_

Vincent closed his eyes, forcing every image and memory of Juno to the forefront of his mind. Her soft auburn hair flowing around her shoulders, the way her smile melted his icy heart a little more every time he saw it. Her electric blue eyes that held him in a trance from the first time he saw her… and the feeling of her lips against his skin, how perfect she fit against him…anything to force away his smoldering desire to take every inch of the woman beneath him and claim her as his own…

_**  
It's like I'm lost  
It's like I'm giving up slowly  
It's like you're a ghost that's haunting me  
Leave me alone  
And I know these voices in my head  
Are mine alone  
And I know I'll never change my ways  
If I don't give you up now  
**_

Vincent continued to rub, his hands trailing down to her backside. As his finger tips reached the hem of the boxers he could almost hear the sound of her restraints breaking. Yuffie let out something akin to a growl as she ground her hips in time against his as he made to move forward. Instantly he gripped her hips, shoving her with a bit more force than he intended against the mattress…

_**  
It's like I can't breathe  
It's like I can't see anything  
Nothing but you  
I'm addicted to you  
It's like I can't think  
Without you interrupting me  
In my thoughts  
In my dreams  
You've taken over me  
It's like I'm not me  
It's like I'm not me  
**_

Vincent let out a feral growl, and for the briefest of moments Yuffie felt pure dread settle in the pit of her stomach. She figured she'd fucked up big this time. However, no sooner had she had the thought than she felt his lips and teeth against her shoulders and neck. She let out a startled cry, which caused him to bite down with near bruising intensity. She felt her body melt into him, her hips grinding roughly against his, his name spilling in a breathy growl from her lips.

_**  
I'm hooked on you  
I need a fix  
I can't take it  
Just one more hit  
I promise I can deal with it  
I'll handle it, quit it  
Just one more time  
Then that's it  
Just a little bit more to get me through this  
I'm hooked on you  
I need a fix  
I can't take it  
Just one more hit  
I promise I can deal with it  
I'll handle it, quit it  
Just one more time  
Then that's it  
Just a little bit more to get me through this  
**_

He knew, beyond a doubt, there was a reason he'd never made love to Juno. That reason was writhing beneath every little touch and bite, fueling all sorts of fires from the gunman's dark side. He closed his eyes in shame as the last image of Juno faded and was replaced by a single minded goal…

_**  
It's like I can't breathe  
It's like I can't see anything  
Nothing but you  
I'm addicted to you  
It's like I can't think  
Without you interrupting me  
In my thoughts  
In my dreams  
You've taken over me  
It's like I'm not me  
It's like I'm not me**_

Vincent ground his hips into her backside roughly, earning a pained moan from the girl. She was all but whimpering as he kissed and nipped down her back. She had a white knuckle grip on the blankets, fighting for some sort of control over her body.

Vincent gave a startled grunt as he felt his entire world shift suddenly and he was flat on his back with a thoroughly aroused young woman straddling him. She slid between his legs, kissing her way down his chest and stomach, grinning to herself at each gasp and groan she'd earned. She nearly ripped his pants in her haste as she drug them down his hips and legs.

Vincent had forgotten what it felt like to fulfill desires of the flesh, he saw nothing but white momentarily as Yuffie delicately took his member into her hot mouth. He nearly lost it right there, as she moaned against him. Instead he grit his teeth and growled her name out like some sort of predator. She moved along his length, dragging her tongue along his sensitive skin and nearly letting him go before diving down again and again…

"Gods…Yu…ffie…" Vincent gasped spasmodically as she let her teeth scrape against him. He fought for control, feeling his release building all too quickly under her expertly executed ministrations. She released him long enough to fix him with a seductive stare and slight grin.

"Just let go…Vincent." and before another word could be said one way or the other she was back at it. Within seconds he felt the tension build, his body reacting quickly to hers, and then he let out a veritable roar that sounded suspiciously like her name.

Yuffie licked her lips and turned her eyes up toward him, feeling the air leave her lungs and her core throb in earnest as Vincent's hand shot out faster than even she could track, burying itself in her hair at the base of her neck. He nearly ripped her off the ground as he came down and crushed his lips against hers, devouring her from the mouth down. She felt the cold shock of wall against her back and cried out; raking her nails along his side enough to draw thin rivulets of blood. He bit and kissed her lips, down her neck and to the aching swell of her breasts. He lifted her higher against the wall, taking a moment to admire her form.

He whispered praises of beauty and amazement, over and over as he carefully kissed his way around each precious mound, arriving after several long agonizing moments at the hyper sensitive peaks. He carefully only allowed his tongue to trace around one nipple, causing her to groan in pure ecstasy and fury, writhing in his grip with her slender hands fisted in his inky black hair. She felt the tension in the pit of her stomach building in a way she hadn't known possible from such a simple act…

She clenched her legs around him, panting as he moved the other, neglected nipple.

"Gods, Vincent I…gods I can't stop…" her voice broke off into a shallow cry as he continued. His crimson eyes locked onto her silver, a malevolent grin spread across his features. He withdrew his mouth, earning a rather loud moan of protest, only to return and wrap his mouth around one perfectly erect nipple while one hand occupied the other. The throbbing between her legs was unbearable; every touch of his tongue on her skin sent another ache spiraling out of control. He withdrew again, crushing her in a fierce kiss and breaking off once again to finish what he started. He bit down, just hard enough, on one sensitive peak and ripped a cry from him that nearly sent_ him _over the edge. He could smell her; feel the sudden shock of heat between her legs as she moaned his name in her release.

That had never happened before, though it seemed fitting that the only one she ever wanted could bring her to orgasm using only his mouth and never coming near her core. As she rode the wave down she shoved them off the wall and sent their bodies falling hard into the floor. She rolled to straddle him, this time she did tear his clothes, as she ripped the tank top he had on off. With a rough tug the boxers elastic band gave way and left one very exposed ninja astride one incredibly aroused gunman. He sat up abruptly, pulling her in and kissing her until she was gasping for air.

He whispered her name, kissing along her cheek and neck, mumbling sweet nothings as he went. Her mind reeled, he was kissing her, touching her, and Leviathan be damned if he wasn't about to do more.

"Vi-Vincent…what?" He kissed her soundly, resting his forehead against hers as he collected his wits.

"I apologize, Yuffie…I had only intended-"He rubbed her arms gently, a part of him burning from the inside out at the sight of her naked and straddling him, it was all he could do not to take her then and there. The radio played another nameless song, gentle guitar and soft voices echoing through the speakers.

She said nothing; instead she wrapped a hand in the hair at the base of his neck and pulled him up to kiss her again. Finally finding her voice she nipped at his ear, earning a slight appreciative groan from the man. "What about Juno? She's _your_ woman, isn't she?" Yuffie could hardly breath knowing what they were doing was wrong on so many levels, and yet it felt too good to pass up.

"It was little more than dinner on the rare occasion I had time available to her." Vincent noted that he didn't feel as badly about the situation as he thought he may have been expected to. He was relieved more than anything. "…I can't…I cannot touch her, not the way..." The rich timbre of his voice sent a new jolt of pleasure through her body. Unable to say what he meant he simply leaned closer and with a tenderness that nearly brought her to tears kissed her.

Yuffie chose to stick with just looking as shocked as she felt, she didn't want to say anything in the off chance it'd scare him away. He watched her a moment, her eyes adjusted to his face, clearly studying him, then trailed across his abused body and stopped to marvel at the scars. Absently she brought her hand up to the massive scar in the center of his chest, where the protomateria had been. He could see the wonder clearly reflected in her gaze as she admired the taught flesh of his skin, which brought a small smile to his face. He'd accepted himself long ago, she marveled at him as though he were her greatest treasure. Then she took his breath away again, she leaned forward, kissing a trail along his chest, up along his neck, and against his ear, sighing as his hands tightened around her hips.

"You are so…" She kissed another scar, her fingertips trailing along his abdomen and leaving him near breathless as she continued her ministrations. "…beautiful."

"Yuffie…" There weren't words to describe the frustration he felt as the all too familiar tone of his phone echoed intrusively through the house. "Fuck…" he growled out, glancing up apologetically at a rather amused Yuffie.

"We should be careful, ne?" She always seemed to revert back to some of her native tongue in situations like these, well maybe not these _exact _situations…but something simular. After all, this was the first time _this_ situation came up…not that he minded it. Five years ago he would have thrown himself off the Sherra at the thought of being intimate with her, she was not as refined then as she was now. He noted the way she slid down the length of his body, earning a groan from him as she only succeeded in rubbing against him further. He forced himself to clothe himself and make his way to his phone. He answered without checking the number first, his thoughts directed elsewhere at the moment.

"Yes?" He nearly growled out.

"Vince? You alright?" Juno sounded surprised to hear him snap at her. "Am I interrupting, I can just call back later." She rushed out, feeling rather put out that he was being so short with her.

"I apologize, Juno. I was a bit…distracted." He didn't lie; he simply omitted any information that wasn't pertinent to her.

"It's ok, maybe I just call you too much." She laughed lightly, Vincent couldn't help but smile. Her laugh was like bells, sweet and happy. She was married to her work and she often called as soon as an idea or breakthrough hit her.

"We're ready, actually ready for the sample now. You do have time, not as much as I think you wanted, but four days should be enough time. When can you leave?" Vincent frowned knowing Yuffie would be slightly upset she could've had more time there than she'd thought.

"We were planning on heading out at first light." He didn't expand on it, or make small talk with her. She felt a bit odd, but passed it off as Vincent be Vincent.

"Ok, well be safe, I'll see you when you return." She hung up without saying goodbye. That was pretty common for her, Juno didn't believe in goodbyes and as such never said them.

Yuffie was leaning against the railing of the stairs watching Vincent. She felt a pang of guilt and sadness. She'd hurt that woman and without even thinking about it, Vincent too. Although he was admittedly harder to inflict any amount of pain on than regular people, then again, he was sensitive to certain things…like sex and love. She shook her head and waited for him to come back up the stairs. He watched her with his crimson eyes as he made his way to her. He slipped his now gauntlet free hand across her back, leaning down he kissed her with a hint of the fire he still _clearly_ felt.

"What do you want, right now?" Yuffie returned the kiss, catching his lip softly between her teeth.

"You…" With that she found her feet didn't touch the floor, his bed was incredibly comfortable, and sleep seemed to be a luxury she'd never afford.

_**A/N: **__I generally limit myself to one of 'those' scenes a chapter, and usually not back to back chapters…I'm not very good at them. But…we'll see what happens next. Review/Flame/ignore…Hey, check out Dust Traveller also, he's an amazing writer!! Get going, read Shards of Chaos and Why Me? _

_By the way, I own nothing, except Juno's name…well actually not even technically that. I named her Juno because I was listening to Juno Reactor at the time this story came about. Juno Reactor…Mako scientist, you know I'm way to easily influenced by music. _

_Song up there is Addicted by Kelly Clarkson. _


	3. Want and Need

_**A/N: Well thank you for the support, here's another chapter and I will do my level best not to insult my writing. Somewhat short, but I do hope you enjoy it…**_

_**x.X.x**_

"What do you want, right now?" Yuffie returned the gunmans kiss, playfully nipping at a portion of his lip.

"…You." Yuffie's mind spun as the words left his lips and her feet came off the ground. She closed her eyes, her small hands fisting in his hair, she sucked in a startled breath.

"Vincent…" Her voice was a whisper, a plea even, as he lifted her off the ground and carried her toward his room. He didn't speak, simply staring at her with a look she'd never seen in his blood red eyes. She gasped as he crushed her mouth against his and her body into the down mattress.

Words weren't needed as he looked down upon her, openly admiring her form. She had filled out in more ways than he'd previously taken notice of. Her eyes were glowing with an inner fire he'd never seen in her, a desire over which he felt a swell of pride knowing he'd put there…that no one else could do this to her. She gasped and moaned softly at every kiss, caress, writhing in ecstasy beneath him. Vincent couldn't remember feeling like this, he assumed he must have felt _something_ for Lucrecia, but this was different, it was more intense, more fulfilling…it was real.

His hands trailed down to her hips, his mouth hovered over hers as she ground her hips against his. She grinned up at him as he groaned, surprised by her sudden movement.

For most of her life, Yuffie had been the odd girl out. She didn't find boys attractive until she turned nineteen…and you can all just guess who she locked her little radar onto. She had never, ever, expressed it fully to him. She was young and immature, but even she knew when to hold her tongue…for the important things. Instead she stayed near him, protecting him and working with him as best she could. Now, she'd tried to find happiness in other men, and it was never even close to the fire she felt for Vincent.

And now her mind reeled at the unbelievable feelings coursing through her body, all at the hands of the only one she'd ever _wanted_ to touch her. His lips burned a trail down the flat plains of her stomach, her hands grasped furiously at his hair and shoulders, and that feeling, like a fire burning from the inside out, was building again the further down he went.

"Yuffie…you are…" Vincent hovered, eyes cast up at her quicksilver depths, and gasped at all the emotions he could see flying through her eyes. His breath hitched, she looked radiant and beautiful, her skin was practically glowing and her cheeks were stained pink, and her skin tasted of honey setting a fire in him he knew he'd never felt before. "…I've waited…too long for this…" and without further stalling she nearly screamed as his mouth descended on her. His tongue burned and his teeth sent wave after wave of blinding pleasure through her, words were beyond her grasp as she was left whimpering and panting while he leisurely explored her nether regions. He glanced up at her momentarily, entranced by the way her back arched under the lightest touch, her hands had abandoned his hair and fisted in the sheets beside her. It was the way her hair, having somehow freed itself from the binding she'd put on it, splayed around her, her eyes clamped shut…but mostly it was the look on her face. A smile that made him want to spend forever in this moment, take his time with her. Her lips were parted just slightly, his name coming out in breathy, uneven pants and moans. Her eyes had been shut, but she must have noticed him staring at her, her eyes opened slowly and they found that neither of them could look away. She clasped his powerful arms and gently urged him back up to her, smiling sweetly as she did.

"I want you, all of you, to be as close to you as…" She gasped as he rose up between her legs, the fabric of his pants send a jolt of pleasure through her as it grazed her skin. Her hands made quick work of the buttons and buckles, and with her legs she managed to drag them down and off his body. She realized then, in his haste to dress and answer his phone, he had neglected to put on any undergarments, thus increasing the fire within her tenfold once she felt _him_ pressed against her still aching core. "…oh, Gods…" She whispered as he showered her neck and cheeks with delicate kisses. "I can't believe… " He kissed her, tracing her bottom lip with his tongue, causing her to gasp and grant him entrance. She let out a deep moan as his tongue danced with hers, she could taste herself on him and it was more erotic than she'd ever thought anything could ever be. He grinned, quite pleased with himself, down at her. "…you're…" He settled himself on his knees, poised between her thighs, and with one arm lifted her slightly off the bed. Her arms wrapped around his neck and legs around his waist. "…here…"

His mouth came down on hers and with one last animalistic growl he thrust deeply into her. She moaned and clawed at his back, he held her firmly against him as she gasped for air, he ground his teeth as her legs tightened, burying him to the hilt. His mind reeled at the sensation of being inside her, connected to her more intimately than anyone had ever been.

"Yuffie…you are…" she had to focus on the words, she worried he may be having second thoughts, though it was a little late in the game for that. Vincent, to his credit, didn't flee the scene. He opted to meet her silver gaze and was surprised by what he saw.

"I have waited for this…for you…for so long…" Her voice was soft and beautiful; he lowered their bodies to the sheets as she brought a hand up to touch his cheek and their lips met in a deep and passionate kiss.

"So…have I." His voice was deeper than usual, more sensual, she melted into him, moving with him as he pulled back, dragging his body against hers, and setting an achingly slow pace. It was almost too much for Yuffie; at this rate she'd die from the pleasure of it all before either finished.

Their eyes remained locked, only for a moment, as he slowly moved against her. She never felt so fulfilled in her life as she did right then, with him on top of her, inside her, moving with her…

"I love you…" The words were a whisper, his eyes locked onto hers, burning furiously with passion and desire, Yuffie gasped as he watched her, never slowing the pace he'd set.

"Yuffie…" She kissed him before he could say anything further, not wanting to hear him say anything one way or the other.

"…Harder Vincent, I want to really _feel_ you." He found that he suddenly couldn't speak, he simply reacted. He pulled almost completely away from her, and she had that same sense of dread for the length of a heart beat, before he came crashing down on her, moving fast and rough against her lithe body. The bed frame slammed violently against the wall with each thrust, he growled out in pure pleasure before biting down on the sensitive skin between her shoulder and neck, ripping a loud moan from her as her nails dug into the pale skin of his back, leaving deep red claw like lines along his porcelain skin.

She gasped, moaned, and cried his name as he moved against her. She felt her peak approaching at breakneck speeds. With a final thrust and something again akin to a roar, her name was violently ripped from his mouth, time seemed to stop momentarily for her, she saw white and her body felt as though it had quite literally caught on fire at some point. Nothing could have ever prepared her for that moment, when his body collapsed against her sweaty, tingling frame. His lips clumsily sought out hers, kissing any exposed flesh he came across as he went until he made it up to her lips, gently kissing them, whispering sweet nothings against them as he did. Yuffie couldn't wrap her mind around the feelings of elation and bliss that lying used and sweaty beneath him stirred within her. He kept kissing and whispering how beautiful she was…

'_Perfect, beautiful, mine…Gods Yuffie…' _His voice alone stoked the fires of delirium and desire within her, and though she was exhausted now and her body was succumbing to sleep, she couldn't pull her eyes away from his when he looked up into hers. Tentatively she brought a hand up, tracing the hard lines of his face, down to his neck and towards his broad shoulders.

She whispered thanks and praises of her own as he gently shifted them into the comfort of the sheets of his bed, wrapping an arm around her waist as he pulled her naked form against his own.

She fell fast asleep, he sat up…worrying about Juno. He'd betrayed her, and though he was sure she understood how hard it was to tie him down, he knew he'd have to fess up so to speak, and soon. Though, to his credit, he'd never known just why he'd had such a difficult reason attaching himself to the beauty that was Juno, until _it_ turned out to be a young ninja hell bent on fulfilling her mission, whatever it may be at the time. He wondered over the fact that though he'd seen Yuffie twice since he'd decided to go after Juno, he never told her…maybe it was out of fear, he was afraid to hurt her. And as smart and clever as he was, he never put the pieces together. He'd wait for the few days she'd come visit every month, marvel at how easily she'd swiped one of the rooms in his home, without ever actually asking him, and then, though he'd never admit it to present company, he'd miss her until the next visit.

He held her a little tighter and she tightened her own grip on his arm in response. Strange how such an annoying young girl had grown to be the one piece of his new life he absolutely couldn't, or wouldn't rather, let himself live without. He wasn't much for creature comforts, or attachments, and he certainly didn't need any of the social contact that the others seemed to crave…he needed her; he just never knew it until tonight. Despite his slight guilt toward Juno, and toward Yuffie…especially since she'd probably feel more like a used toy than anything important to him until he presented the problem to Juno and…and then what? He looked down at her and then back up to the ceiling, one arm resting comfortably behind his head. She rolled in her sleep and curled against him. He smiled and closed his eyes, daring to let himself sleep now that at least one thing, one little thing in his somewhat dreary life had taken a drastic turn for the better.

'_What will I do? Do I follow her, request to be assigned as her partner…does she even need a partner? What will Reeve and the others think?'_ he paused in his thoughts as a memory of stargazing with Juno suddenly found its way through all his musings. She was smiling, telling him how beautiful the night was, kissing him so gently and timidly it made his heart skip a beat…but not enough to bring him back. Yuffie made his very blood boil; his body ached for her when ever she was near for the last three or so years. Granted, it had taken some getting used to, especially given his current track record for these sorts of relationships. Yuffie opened one eye, smiling at him before mumbling something that sounded like "go to sleep" and pulling him to her a little tighter. He smiled and closed his eyes, content with tonight and ready to take whatever tomorrow had to throw at him.

x.X.x

Juno sat the phone down, frowning a bit as she did so. That didn't sound like a _'little' _distraction, it sounded a lot like she'd interrupted a rather intimate moment. She closed her eyes imagining what she had called in the middle of and soon found herself heaving mightily into the toilette. She felt her heart hammering away in her chest as her breath came in ragged gasping sobs.

She steadied herself against the wall as she stood, feeling all the warmth drain from her heart at the thought of Vincent and that other woman. He'd admitted to not being able to trudge too deeply into the realm of intimacy. For the last two months they'd been spending the occasional evening together, either eating dinner or at her lab discussing her latest discovery. He'd kissed her, surprised the hell out of her, but kissed her on one of those nights. She'd been going on and on about how amazing he was, genetically speaking of course, and how flawless he truly was. She had apparently hit a nerve when she got to the part of him that was held together by three demons, saying that it was part of what separated him from the rest of us. She called him incredible and amazing; he kissed her in shock and amazement. She could still see the look he had, his half lidded blood red eyes staring down at her with that barely there smile.

The empty feeling that followed was not something she was prepared for, her heart felt as though it had been torn from her chest, a sacrifice she'd made all too often with her work. Love was ever out of reach for any kind of scientist, not just those with a strange affinity for genes, aeronautical, medical…you name it and they've the same troubles of the heart.

'_To be a scientist is to be alone…'_ she thought wryly. She always knew he was just out of her reach, despite their supposed closeness, he never once tried to be anymore intimate than the occasional warm embrace. He'd felt like nothing she'd ever felt before, though being with him wasn't without its downsides. He disliked physical contact, or at least she perceived it that way. He'd flinch every time she touched him, which was disheartening. He didn't reciprocate most, if any at all, of her feelings about their connection. He didn't speak of it; generally he was quiet, kind, and secretive. In the first week that the young Wutaian had shown up he'd said more, been on the go constantly, and never seemed to have time for Juno.

She had to admit that it hurt like hell to be dropped so quickly, however, knowing him as she did…he hadn't meant to cause her any pain by it. It wasn't in him to treat someone so badly. She had a sinking feeling that the next time they saw one another would certainly be the last under _these_ circumstances.

Juno took a quick glance in the mirror, her reflection pale and exhausted. She washed her face and hands quickly before heading out to her own home. In four days she'd have the last sample she needed for her cure; at least she could still offer that to Vincent. She shuddered at the thought of him, anger still burning ever so slightly in the back of her mind. She'd go home, sleep, and redouble her efforts, thus blocking out any chance of thinking about or worrying over anything that wasn't directly related to Mako and genes.

_**A/N: Ok, next chapter will be at the crater…and if you notice how Yuffie says "It's only two days" I just go under the assumption that Reeve fully expects it to take her some time to get to the crater and back, also coming up…Vincent and Juno face off, well talk at least.**_


	4. Distractions

_**A/N: **__Still don't own anything._

_**xXx**_

_Halloween had always been her favorite time of year, the art of disguise was something she'd perfected these last few years. She loved the idea pretending to be something she wasn't, even if just for one night. As it was, princess' and damsels in distress were too cliché for her_

_She adjusted the wreath of lilies adorning her midnight black hair, tugged the eggshell white dress into place, adjusting the vast multitude of ties and bindings, quite a pain but Tifa had insisted the renaissance themed bodice and dangerously short off white skirt coupled with the lilies and large elegant wings were strikingly beautiful on her. She sighed mightily as she trudged up the steps of Seventh Heaven. She was not as happy this year as she had been in years past, the familiar longing had sunk back into the very center of her being, she'd seen him not long ago and he'd hardly taken notice of her. She knew he wouldn't, he never did. Secretly she admired Tifa for her incredible inner strength; though she suspected the brunette had had years of practice. _

_She opened the door, slightly surprised to see so many people had shown up for the Halloween party. She didn't see Cloud or Tifa but she could certainly hear Cid. She headed toward the obnoxious roar of laughter that was undoubtedly her chain smoking pilot. There were various shouts and wolf whistles in her direction; she ignored them with mild disgust as she tugged once more at the skirt, it was dangerously short, leaving her tanned legs bare for all to world to see. _

_She stopped as a figure dressed in shadow emerged, blocking her path toward Cid. She casually took in the boots, leather pants, buckles, black shirt, the undone buttons and bare skin of his chest, and finally his crimson eyes that had always seemed to haunt her dreams._

"_Hello, Vincent." She lifted her eyes to his slowly, taking in the scent of gunpowder and something undeniably masculine, his hair was pulled back and she could clearly see he was starring back down at her with a similar intensity._

"_Yuffie." He replied with a simple tilt of his head. _

_She felt a piece of her soul shatter as he walked away from her and out the door. Parties had never been something he enjoyed; she wouldn't see him again for another several months. By then she would have forgotten that she'd been so heart sick over him simply walking away._

_**xXx**_

_Vincent would have been lying if he said he hadn't been stunned to the point of speechlessness when he had seen Yuffie that Halloween. She'd been a vision of satin and fantasy walking through that door. Her hair was in a lovely state of teased disarray, the sweet smelling lilies adding to the illusion. He'd never felt so compelled to take her into his arms and lay claim to her as he did the instant the first whistle left the young boy at the bars lips. _

_He had been frightened though, frightened and he did what he did best…he ran. He couldn't think of anything to say starring at her so he chose to just walk away, already convinced she would not listen to his reasons. He regretted ever hurting her purposefully. He wanted to protect her, and this was the best way he'd known how. He was unable to be what she needed; he was an immortal demon as long as he was joined with Chaos. _

_Vincent sighed as he arrived back at the mansion, pausing suddenly. He absolutely refused to return to _that_ life. He turned on his heel; he rented a room for the night at the inn slept and gave his chocobo a chance to rest. The next morning he made his way toward Kalm; he would get an apartment and live in relative obscurity._

_**xXx**_

Yuffie woke with a start, heart still pounding with dread as she struggled to gain control over her breathing, a cold sweat broke out over her body and she felt herself trembling. She felt cool metal slide across her abdomen, coming to rest against her hip, leaving the warm arm it was attached to drape over her. It did little to calm her frayed nerves.

Yuffie slowly turned her head to the side, afraid to see what lay beside her. Black, silky hair lay splayed across the pillows. His features were softened in sleep, he looked peaceful and she thought for a moment she'd never seen him so at ease. She sucked in another quiet gasp, tears brimming behind her steely grey eyes.

Panic gave way to sorrow as she turned to slide from the glory that was Vincent Valentine. _'Gods above, what the hell have I done?'_ she grit her teeth as the metal talons drug across her tender skin, it took everything she had to suppress the shuddering moan begging to be released.

"Leaving so soon?" Yuffie choked on a sob in her fright.

"I'm so sorry!" She nearly shrieked. Vincent's arm shot out at her quicker than she knew was humanly possible and with an almost violent jerk, he pinned her lithe form beneath his. His crimson eyes bore into her with such intensity she thought she'd burst. "Wh-what have I done? Gods, and Juno…Vin-"His lips came crashing down on hers, she gasped from both pleasure and sorrow. He nipped her lip, his tongue taking advantage of her parted lips. She shuddered against him, her body suddenly burning from the inside out as he positioned himself between her shapely legs.

Vincent pulled back to look at her, his now glove free hand gently caressing her cheek, tracing the very edge of her ear on its way to the back of her neck. He let his fingers thread themselves within her thick hair. "Yuffie…" his voice caused something within her to stir. Before she'd had anytime to contemplate the look in his eyes, the way he had whispered her name, or the urge to bolt, he was inside her and her mind went blank. Her eyes starred unseeing up at him as the fire that he'd started became a full blown inferno. Her eyes closed as he pulled back and thrust forward again and again, ripping a guttural moan from the young woman.

"_Don't…"_ His voice was deep, thick with passion and Yuffie felt as though everything in the world had bottomed out. He kept moving, harder and faster, and she was nearly screaming into his lips as they moved with expert precision against hers. Her body was melting all around him and she could scarcely make heads or tails of whatever it was he was trying to say.

"_Do...do not…Gods…" _His voice grew ragged the more he spoke; Yuffie felt her throat tighten as he moved to bury his head in the crook of her neck, his lips and teeth trailing over the sensitive skin they found. Then, almost as if by surprise, she felt the white hot fire of her release building within her and moving from the very core of her being to the tips of her fingers and all the way to her toes.

She was capable of little more than whimpering his name as her release reached its crescendo. Her eyes flew open and locked on burning blood red orbs. She saw him, all of his passion, fear, love, bliss and hatred in one terrifyingly liberating moment. She fought to keep her eyes on his as she fought to hold out for him, she could feel him closing in on his own release and her body ached for him. He shifted slightly, hitting every sensitive nerve he could in one fell swoop. Her back arched with near violent force off the bed, his mouth swallowing the soul shattering moan as she flew over the edge. He nearly growled in absolute pleasure as he felt himself fall over the edge, thrusting once more, grinding her hips roughly into his own. Sweat poured over his lean form, saturating the forgotten sheets beneath them. Yuffie struggled to regain control of her heart and lungs, her eyes focused on Vincent, who still lay collapsed atop her.

"Vin…cent?" She asked carefully.

"Do not…leave." Yuffie's eye opened slowly.

Yuffie watched him, his eyes closed as he let his forehead rest against her neck. A single glittering tear slid from the corner of her eye, disappearing into his hair.

"_Don't leave…"_ His voice was nearly desperate as his arms firmly held her captive against the iron wall that was his chest. She could hardly believe she'd heard him correctly; she'd never pegged him for any of _this_. He wanted her…._wanted_ more than anything. Her arms slowly slid against their sweat slicked skin to wrap around his neck. She couldn't find her voice to answer him so she simply kissed his chest, neck, against one ear, her lips curving up in a smile as he sighed in delight as she neared his lips.

Vincent let them lay a short time before he ushered her into the shower. He took the time to wash her hair and memorize the rest of her body as they stood completely transfixed by one another beneath the gentle shower of warm water, cleansing them in more ways than one.

They managed to leave by midday, a pair of gold chocobos made traveling to the crater a matter of hours rather than days. They hardly spoke as they made their trek sans the birds up the steep walls of the crater.

_**xXx**_

_**Inspired by Sia 'Distractions' in more ways than one, sorry to those of you that like this fic, I didn't realize it had been so long since I updated.**_


	5. The Cave

_**A/N: And even still…I own nothing. **_

_**Hit a road block in this fic, not sure where I want to go…or if I want to keep going.**_

_**But then I updated…So clearly I want to keep going.**_

_**XxXxX**_

The hike had been anything but quick, it had taken four hours to get half way up the side of the crater. Vincent had mapped out a route that led them into the bowels fo the crater from a cave that was nearly halfway down from the mouth of the crater itself. It would lead them all the way through to the center where the mako rich lifestream was. They had been exhausted upon reaching the outcropping leading into the mouth of said cave and yet both seemed eager to get the samples and be done with the mission and pushed on.

"You're sure this is the spot? I mean there has been like a thousand of these stupid things all through here…" Yuffie gasped out, taking a long drink from her canteen. Vincent did not dignify her with a response, opting to give her a pointed stare before moving on. She huffed and followed, carefully picking her footing as she moved with feline grace toward the entrance.

Upon reaching said opening she was not disappointed. The whole cave was lined with glowing green walls of glassy materia. It looked like ice, eerie and cool to the touch, though it did not melt. Vincent kept pace behind the fascinated young woman as she let her delicate fingers dance across the surface of the walls.

"Can you believe this? It's beautiful…" her voice was wistfully sweet, causing him to smirk in response.

"Indeed it is something else. These crystals are pure, free of any mako contamination. They have no latent magic in them as the materia we have does, however you could theoretically create your own materia out of this." Using the butt of Cerberus Vincent nicked a chunk of the glowing greenish white rock off the wall. He examined it a moment, then smiling at Yuffie tossed it her way.

"I can keep it? This is incredible, Vince. I've never seen anything so…pretty." She smiled stuffing the rock into her bag. "We should get moving before I get stuck in here." She gently urged him forward.

"Indeed." Vincent led the way down; the cave was completely uninhabited now. Not a single monster had made its way down into the bowels of Sephiroth's make shift tomb.

"Isn't that just a little odd?" Yuffie questioned, taking another slow drink from her canteen.

"What's that?" He motioned for her to be careful on the out cropping they were moving against. At his behest she looked in the direction he indicated and gasped at the jagged crystal formations just below her.

"Yikes…" she made it effortlessly to the other side and down another tunnel. "There aren't any creatures, monsters, plants…nothing lives down here." She plopped unceremoniously to the ground as they reached the base of the cave. She was shocked at how _warm_ it was down there. It was like Costa Del Sol in summer, not at all the icy cavern it had been all those years ago. "Sweet Leviathan, I wish this place would pick a temperature and just stick to it!" She leaned back against the rocks, sighing contentedly.

"There would be nothing for these creatures of yours to eat. As you said, no plants grow down here. There is no sunlight; there is no moss due to the fact that this is not water, but pure lifestream. This is like poison to most living things." He motioned to a pool of the glowing bluish green liquid dripping from a stalagmite.

"How did all this happen? I mean, didn't we kind of destroy it when we fought down here?" Yuffie watched him, groaning inwardly as she noticed his shirt had suddenly become skin tight. Vincent watched her curiously, becoming only slightly aware of her apparent increasing frustrations. He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what could possibly be upsetting her at this point. He made a conscious decision not to do anything that may potentially upset her in any way shape or form, though he had his doubts that she was actually 'angry', still he felt the best course of action would be to make the trip as easy on them both.

"We did little to the actual structural integrity of the cavern, save the few minor explosions from materia." Yuffie watched him, utterly fascinated by his manner of speaking. "If you really think about it, the cave is alive."

"I guess…I'd never really considered that." She took in the beauty of it. The walls seemed to glow with an 'other worldly' quality. The shattered walls and pillars were now supported by pillars of the pure lifestream crystal. The rock seemed stronger than the steel of Cloud's sword and did in fact seem to be pulsing with some kind of life like quality. "It really is incredible. I wish I'd taken the time to really see this then."

"It didn't look like this during that time. It was poisoned with Jenova's cells. Her contamination created an incredibly hostile environment, the planet itself rejected this chasm." He bent, filling several vials with the liquid. Yuffie knelt beside him, examining one vial, moving the liquid back and forth. She gasped in surprise as it immediately began to harden from her repeated motions. Vincent placed his gauntlet covered hand over hers. "It doesn't react well to that…here, watch." He held it still and instantly it returned to it's liquid form.

"That is just bizarre Vince. So Dr. Juno is going to…" Their eyes met a moment and Vincent saw the disappointment settle in her silver depths.

"Yuffie?" He brought his good hand to her chin, turning her gaze back toward his.

"I'm so sorry, I've never done…_that_ before. I always held myself to a higher standard and here I am seducing another woman's man just because I wanted him for myself." Vincent smiled at her, feeling slightly guilty himself.

"I will speak to her, Yuffie. That is not your responsibility. That lies entirely with me..." Yuffie smiled faintly, obviously relived. "You did not seduce me."

She gave him a mocking smirk. "True…but I could have said 'no'."

"Neither of us wanted that." He stated in his ever present matter-o-fact tone. Yuffie leaned forward, kissing him softly.

"I agree…" She kissed him again. This time he held her there, deepening the kiss.

"And now? Do you still wish for me to stop?" He kissed her cheek and down her neck, reveling in her slight gasps as he moved forward and carefully lowered her to the warmth of the crystal floor.

"Mmm…not really." She smirked at his chuckle. "What can I say? You can turn me on with something as simple as a raised eyebrow. I can't help it if I think you're sexy." He drew back, raising an eyebrow curiously at her. They shared a smirk, Yuffie reaching up to cup his cheek. "Ooh baby…" She whispered playfully as she pulled him down on top of her, kissing him again.

**xXxXx**

"Doctor, they just left the crater and should be here in a day. I guess one of their chocobo's twisted its foot on the way down the crater. Mr. Valentine requested you call when you get a free moment." Sophie, one of the office techs relayed the message to Juno as she worked tirelessly preparing the serum.

"Good to hear." She turned to the young girl. "They sure made good time, didn't they?"

"Mr. Tuesti provided them with his two best gold chocobos." Sophie added, nodding once to excuse herself as Juno reached for a phone. She dialed from memory, almost missing Vincent pick up.

_"Juno."_ He spoke softly, she hated the way his voice made her feel. Though if she was really being fair, she was sure any woman would feel that way, his voice was damn good on the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Valentine." She winced at her own shortness with him. "How goes the return trip?" She tried to amend her curt answer, though she sensed he'd picked up on her change in mood.

_"Yuffie's chocobo had a mishap, the leg was not severely damaged however the bird is unable to do much more than limp. Cid Highwind is on his way to retrieve us."_ Vincent answered in his usual monotone._ "I expect we will be back tomorrow, early if weather permits."_ Juno was again nodding on the phone. _"You do realize I can't see you nodding…?"_ She laughed before quickly answering.

"I apologize, everything is going so well here I was a little preoccupied. Good to hear you both had a successful trip. I can't wait to see the 'juice'." Her voice sounded excited and Vincent was reminded of Lucrecia's love for science. "Thank you for updating me and thank Miss Kisaragi for her help. I hope to see you both when you return." She said honestly.

_"Of course, Juno. I will contact you once we land."_ With that the line went dead and Juno quickly returned to her work, once again smiling. He wasn't a bad guy, she realized. He wasn't _anything_ like the men she knew. He was just…Vincent, a being driven by something deeper than any normal man would ever know. She guessed he and Yuffie had more history than he'd earlier let on, and really she couldn't seem to find fault with it. She did like him, though not with the same intensity as before. The younger woman openly adored him and Juno couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Kids these days…" She chuckled to herself. "Sophie-"She called out, waiting for the girl to respond. She caught the faint _'Yes, Dr. Juno?'_ "Can you please make a pot of tea and then go ahead and take the rest of the day off. I've only my last bit of work to do here and then I'll be done."

"Yes, doctor." The girl's face lit up at the thought of having most of the day to herself. Juno smiled to herself as she worked. She really hoped Vincent found what he was looking for, that this would be the cure he'd been waiting for. _'The things we do for the ones we love...'_

**xXxXx**

**A/N: **Sorry for the shortness of this one, I just couldn't seem to find more to put in there. Let me know what you think, or if you want me to add anything :) Thanks for stickin' with me!


	6. Gloomy Sunday

_**Note:**__ I felt compelled to put a little angst back in here…so be prepared for a emotional splatter….yay, I'm already excited about this one. -evil smirk-  
**Another Note:** Thanks, J. I always appreciate the help ;)_

_The inspiration for this chapter is a combination of things, 'Gloomy Sunday' as sung by Sarah Mclaughlin (or whatever), 'Unchained Melody'...but motstly a comment by a personal favorite author of mine, Valentine'sNinja. I thought it out and this is what y'all get, hope you enjoy it XD_

_**XxXxX**_

**..Gloomy Sunday..**

It hadn't taken Cid long to find Vincent and Yuffie and it had taken even less time to get them back to Nibelheim. It was early and the _'Sherra' _was racing the sun as they cleared Mount Nibel. Yuffie stood, completely unfazed by the airship, watching everything fly by. It had been nearly two years since she'd hitched a ride with Cid anywhere, she felt free and alive in the skies. It was suffocating to live life scurrying about on the ground like ants busy feeding the collective nothingness that was society. She hated politics, and yet she was one of Reeve's first choices to send into any kind of political negotiation. She was more than 'good' at her job and her skills were nothing to scoff at.

She let out a sigh, stretching her arms as wide as they would go and imagined she was flying through the air. She let everything go and focused on the feeling of the wind stinging her face and rushing through her hair, the gentle hum of the engines powering the airship, and the feeling of complete and total weightlessness.

Vincent stood and watched her from a distance, he felt as though he were seeing her for the first time. Seeing her beauty, realizing for the first time that he'd felt something for her for quite some time, and he realized with a start that he'd completely let her in and dropped all pretense of being guarded or cautious. He was spontaneous, indecisive, enthralled, and was beginning to develop an addiction to her. She turned her grey eyes on him and he felt his throat tighten. She smiled his way and in that moment he nearly came undone. _He was falling for her. _He, a demon, a monster…he wasn't supposed to feel these things, was he? He knew Hojo's tests could only do so much to the human body and psyche, however housing several demons _had_ taken a serious toll on him. It wasn't as though all their time was simply for want and based on mutual lust, it had been something more. It was the 'something more' that had him twisted as she made her way toward him, he couldn't take his eyes off her as she sashayed her way from the railing and into the cargo hold beside him.

"What's wrong, Vincent?" Her voice was a breathy whisper, seductive and sweet. He knew she had only whispered to keep the birds housed in the cargo hold calm, however it had a surprising effect on him.

"Not a thing…I was enjoying the view." He glanced down at her, his ever-present mask of indifference held firmly in place. It simply wouldn't do to have her find out she'd had such a profound effect on him just yet. Perhaps it was his need for control, his incessant need to have order and know what was going to happen…yes, he needed to control this before it became something they would both regret. She knew there was more to them than just the mind blowing sex, and he'd let her for now. In truth he was more than a little uneasy with his own self realization. He was constantly reminded of how he felt in her youth versus how he felt now and the stark contrast to her brash outbursts and her immaturity against the refined, hard working, self reliant _woman_ she was now.

"Ah…" Her voice hinted that she understood he felt more and simply did not wish to speak of it. She turned to stand beside him, watching as Mount Nibel came into view. The sun had yet to rise, the world seemed suspended in the twilight. The little town was still dark and quiet, seemingly asleep. The mansion loomed in the distance, Yuffie sighed as she wrapped her arms around his waist and burying her head into his chest. Vincent allowed his arms to instinctively wrap around her narrow shoulders, smiling to himself.

Home meant two things for Yuffie, neither of them pleasant. First, Vincent intended to speak to Juno alone and explain himself after they'd completed the cure. As soon as that was all finished and Reeve had been updated she would return to full duty, she had asked to be on standby until she'd heard the final judgment on the cure, after that she'd be thrown back into the grind and sent away from Vincent.

"It's really too bad it's over now…" Yuffie still spoke softly. Vincent remained silent, leaning down and placing a soft kiss against her hair. He stayed still for a moment, contemplating the choices he would be forced into making. Yuffie had not yet even so much as suggested he join her, in fact she seemed content to do this one thing on her own. He'd been much the same way. This was something she was good at and she enjoyed the fact that she never needed anyone to help her or watch over her shoulder as she worked. That she was trusted with secrets even Vincent would never know…mostly that she was trusted, if not desperately needed and heavily relied upon.

Yuffie held everything she felt at that moment in the deepest part of her heart. She felt love for the man beside her, however her work would keep them apart much of the time. He too worked for the WRO, however at a lower station than Yuffie, and as such he was not privy to the heavy secrets that she was supposed to keep safe. It was a burden she enjoyed, being charged with the WRO's safekeeping, she'd always been good at deception and secrets. She thought of Vincent, of how different they were now as compared to her earlier years. She had more or less used him as a model, emulating him and creating her own new self around his attitude. Her admiration for him never dimmed, never faltered. It wasn't as if he could do no wrong, he'd done his fair share of insulting her capability and hurting her feelings…but she was a kid then and they were fighting God. She subconsciously tightened her grip on him, he gave her a reassuring squeeze in response.

"Alright, y'all 'er safe an' sound…I'll deliver the buzzards to Reeve for ya." Cid's voice crackled over the intercom, interrupting their thoughts.

"Thanks, Captain! I'll come back and visit soon, old man." Yuffie giggled as she spoke. Cid's gruff laugh answered her as they left unloaded their bags and trudged on toward the mansion. Yuffie waved to the _'Sherra'_ until it was out of sight.

"We should get some sleep, we'll take the samples to her this afternoon." Vincent turned without a second thought and it was only when he reached the door that he realized Yuffie hadn't followed him. He turned back to see her standing still and staring up at the sky. "Yuffie?" She turned, her eyes losing some of their luster.

"I have to leave as soon as I'm packed…I'm out of time." She held up her phone as some sort of excuse. Vincent simply nodded, turning again to open the door. He wanted to tell her to stay, or ask if he could go with her. He didn't, he stayed silent, his own misguided determination not to show weakness hindering him yet again. Yuffie finally moved then, following him into the living room, her usual cheerful countenance replaced with an uncharacteristicly melancholy frown.

"Tea?" He spoke over his shoulder. Yuffie nodded with a quiet 'Mmhm'. He set the kettle on and returned to the living room where she stood. Her back was too him, her long hair held up in a disheveled bun, staring blankly toward the sunrise. He stood behind her, not quite touching her. She sighed softly as his hair tickled her shoulders, leaning back against him. He stiffened momentarily and then slowly he began tilting his head down toward hers, his eyes closed as he tried to memorize the way she felt pressed against him, the vague hint of some exotic spice that seemed to follow her. It wasn't as if he'd never see her again, or that he wouldn't be able to find her any time he wanted…in fact it would be easy for him to be near her as often as he wanted. However, he was who he was and he did not _pursue_ people in that fashion. He'd come if she called…he knew that much he could not deny her.

"…Yuffie?" Vincent slowly brought his hands up to her waist. She made a soft mewling sounds as his fingertips slid toward the hem of her shirt and ever upward.

"I wish I didn't have to leave." She stated simply, turning around in his arms. "I want to stay near you…" She whispered against his shirt. Any other man would have missed it or dismissed it. Vincent heard it, absorbed it, and frowned. He wanted the same, though he did not voice his request.

Her skin began to tingle where his fingers had been and soon she found herself beneath him on the oversized couch, his fingers skimming down her arms, her sides until his warm hand reached her stomach. His palm spread wide, placing a firm pressure against her abdomen that sent tiny sparks of desire in all directions. Her own small hands trailed along the firm muscles of his chest, hidden behind a black t-shirt, and up to trace along his jaw line before disappearing into his hair. His palm moved lower until his fingers came into contact with the hem of her favorite sweats. She gasped as heat like nothing she'd felt before coursed through her. His eyes locked with hers, she nodded at the silent question. He lowered his lips to hers gently, with a barely there kiss. He held himself back when she tried to deepen it, moving away just out of her reach, his fingers applying pressure and garnering another gasp from her perfect pink lips. He tormented her with his feather soft kisses, he shifted his gantlet arm to wrap around her shoulders and hold her firmly as the burning heat of his fingers made it to their destination, sliding beneath the last barrier. She let out a shallow cry at his touch and even still he refused to indulge her lips, preferring the sounds of her whimpering and soft cries. He moved deeper, harder against her as he listened to her whimpers turn to deep sighs and breathless moans, his name spilling from her along with pleas for him to touch her. He didn't think she'd noticed she slipped back into Wutaian. He gave a throaty chuckle as 'Vince' became _'Vincento'_.

Her hands fisted into his shirt and hair, struggling in vain against him to pull him into her. He nipped her lip as his hand increased it's speed, not nearly as soft and gentle as it had been a moment ago. Now it was like sparks to oil and she felt the heat as he moved harder and faster, never saying a word much less kissing her. She groaned as her release built and grew, though never fully falling over the edge…she needed something, this wasn't enough. _'Onegai…'_ he heard her whispering feverishly, over and over along with his name, he felt a hungry pulse from deep within himself. He stared at her for less than a second, her cheeks flushed and alluring, her lips parted as they gasped his name over and over, her eyes clamped shut and her brows furrowed in either extreme pleasure or discomfort…he imagined it must have been somewhere in the middle, as he knew exactly what he was doing, holding her at just that point.

"Open your eyes…" His gruff voice, commanding as it was, sent a shockwave through her that he felt. She complied in time to catch the feral grin and his lips come crashing down against her own. His motions changing, his thumb moving over a sensitive area and his fingers hit that oversensitive bundle of nerves within her, causing her to half moan and half scream his name as she slammed into her orgasm. His name ripped from her in pure ecstasy, causing him to shudder. He had every intention to stay there, keeping her trapped beneath him on his couch and taking her to new heights of pleasure. However, the tea kettle began to whistle and he withdrew, placing feather light kisses against her cheeks and neck. Her eyes felt heavy, she felt sated. She was locked in his penetrating gaze as he hovered, half ready to get up. He kissed her once again and then did something that would forever be burned into her memory as the most erotic thing she'd ever seen anyone do. He ghosted over her lips with his fingers before dipping down to kiss her hard and leaning back just enough to take one finger into his mouth and taste her. She gasped, fully aroused at the sight, she began shifting beneath him as he pressed himself fully against her. She groaned abruptly as he kissed her just as he moved to stand.

"Not fair, _Vincento_." Her accent seemed more prevalent in these moments, something he'd become quickly attached to. He chuckled, offering her a rare warm smile.

"In due time, princess…" She frowned at him, mischief burning bright in her grey eyes.

He prepared their tea and brought it out to her. They sat in silence, enjoying one another's company and the Wutiain tea. She sighed when she'd finished, looking around the living room once more in an attempt to remember it as it was. They stayed that way for a long while, Yuffie eventually gave in and curled up on the couch, sighing contentedly as he made his way over and lay behind her wrapping his strong arms around her. He never said a word about her leaving, though he seemed less than thrilled over it. She wanted him so desperately to say _anything _that might give her cause to make a few changes, call Reeve and tell him to give her space, anything to belie the cold wall he'd begun to construct around himself. After an hour or more her phone rang.

"'allo? Hey, Reeve…what'dya need?" She had dozed off beside him, answering her phone she felt groggy and ready for a vacation from her vacation.

"_I need you to get back, double time. We've got situations with Wutai, Cosmo Canyon, and Mideel. I promise to follow-up on Vincent and Dr. Creston's cure and get-" _

"Dr. who?" Yuffie shook her head, slowly pulling herself to a sitting position.

"_Dr. Creston, uh…"_ She heard Reeve shuffling through several papers. _"Dr. Juno Creston…you've met her, you had me talk to her. Didn't you even ask her name?" _Reeve gave a chuckle.

"I knew her as 'Juno', that's all." She took a breath, sighing before she stood and stretched. "Alright, I'll be back in Edge in a couple da-"

"_No, head to Wutai. They're on the verge of killing each other there, go see what you can do and report back. It's ridiculous, but Wutai is our top priority at this point, understood?" _Yuffie smirked as she nodded.

"Sure thing, boss." She flipped the phone shut, groaning as she ran her hands through her hair. "I have to leave now. Thank you…for everything, Vincent." Yuffie spoke slowly, he could hear the sadness building behind each word. "I'll call you sometime soon, yeah?" He nodded once, his arm hiding his eyes. "Right…" Yuffie rolled her eyes, having grown increasingly frustrated at his silence and bizarre behavior. She stood, collecting her things quickly.

Vincent noticed her every action seemed forced, like she was ready to run. Had it mattered at all to her, didn't she understand he felt just as angry? Was she going to disappear now, just up and take off without so much as a backward glance? He knew he was being foolish, she'd been trying to say good-bye since the flight home, however a small and completely illogical portion of his brain had suddenly kicked to life after thirty-some-odd years of nonexistence. He sighed to himself, he wasn't one for games either and she was certainly acting childish with her stomping and huffing.

"Care to tell me what is bothering you?" He asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose irritably. _'I don't like this either…'_ he should've said it aloud, but his damnable pride was once again stopping him.

"No." She answered quietly, subdued by her own anguish. _'Can't he just…say something? Gods, I bet he just wanted to get some…he's a stupid man after all.' _Yuffie frowned at the ridiculous thought. Vincent was not every other guy, he wasn't big on emotional or physical contact of any kind. "No…" She repeated with even less conviction.

"As you wish. Take care of yourself, Yuffie." Vincent stood and walked past her, taking their cups into the kitchen. Her eyes burned and her tiny fists trembled with anger and sorrow. She quickly took a few deep breaths to calm herself before standing to walk out the door. He stepped around the corner and stood in her way, not saying a word, his expression devoid of any emotion.

"What? Look, I really have to go this time, Vince." She huffed, clearly irate. It irked him to see her disregard his feelings so quickly. He was never a fan of her quick temper and ungrateful attitude, he wasn't ever a fan of _people_ to begin with, but anyone who had the audacity to treat him as she just had soon realized the error of their ways. Yuffie did not, it seem, even notice he was angry. Her glare was fixed on his feet and she was tapping her foot impatiently. "Move, man…I gotta go." She frowned up at him, hiding her shock at the glare he had.

"I've given you a place to stay, cooked for you, and invited you along on this expedition, of which there was no need to bring you, all in an attempt to help _you _relax and _this _is how you say your thanks? I had thought you were above such childish antics, Miss Yuffie." He bit out, not at all shocked to see a good dozen emotions shoot across her features. She glared, ready to shout and scream at him. However, the anguish chewing a hole through her heart at having him calling her childish was enough to deflate any argument she'd had ready.

"…" She straightened up, met his stare evenly and thought for a moment how _odd_ it was that their roles had so suddenly been reversed. She opened her mouth to say something and quickly closed it again. She smiled up at him, he knew that smile well and felt the bitter pang of regret instantly. "Thank you, for everything. I'm sure we'll cross paths again soon." She walked to the door, turned back and smiled again. He wanted to scream at her, grab her and kiss her, tell her he didn't mean it…but he didn't. He stared blankly back at her, wounded by her bitter smile and the complete emptiness he suddenly felt. "Ja ne!" With that the front door was slammed behind her and she was gone. Vincent slumped to the floor, leaning against the wall muttering how stupid he was to himself over and over again.

"Fuck…" He groaned at his aching muscles as he stood and made his way up to shower and get prepared for Juno. "_Fuck!" _It couldn't possibly get any worse, at least not today…

**_XxXxX_**

"…So in conclusion, we at the World Regenesis Organization will be overseeing the development of the 'Rosuto Field' project. All changes and the criteria agreed upon shall be considered and taken up with Wutai's chief Public Works Officer, Shake-kun. All rebuttals and appeals will be dealt with accordingly." Yuffie glanced across the crowd, everyone of them reminded her of Vincent. She wanted to throw the podium at them. The whole of Wutai was up in arms over the development of her late mother's land, and Reeve had never been more right. The whole thing was ridiculous. Sometimes, though, people _needed_ to feel like they were being aloud to choose what was happening around them, to feel in control. Everyone from all sides appeared pleased with the decision, Tseng had been handling it all well and with grace. In fact, he stayed out of it for the most part, allowing the people to make their own decision.

"It was just a rice plantation, that would mean more jobs, food, it'd support the economy and the town…I don't know why anyone would want to fight that." Yuffie sighed, taking a long sip of her tea.

"It was, and is, sacred land. Your mother owned that land and gave it to the people as a 'gift'. It was named Rosuto, or lost, Fields because of how large it was and the fact that children did tend to get lost out there." Tseng went to pour himself a second cup only to be stopped by Yuffie, a questioning glance earned him a smirk.

"C'mon, I've been trained my whole life to serve tea, let me do it." He smiled at that.

"You were trained for much more than that, cousin." Tseng accepted the cup graciously. "Elena and I will wed in the fall…" He spoke softly, Yuffie's slight smile became a full fledged grin.

"Congratulations, Emperor Tseng…May Leviathan bless you with many happy years." She smirked wickedly. "And a dozen baby _girsl_!" She laughed heartily at his slight frown.

"Only if they're anything like you or Elena, then maybe it would be tolerable." Yuffie quieted suddenly, a sort of sad nostalgia washing over her.

"Thank you, Tseng…" She graced him with a traditional bow to show her respect, something only he or her father ever saw from her. "I am honored you think so highly of me."

"Ah, and here I thought you'd abandoned the old ways." Her father joked as he entered the small patio. Yuffie jumped to her feet gracefully and ran to him.

"Surprise!" She was held firmly against him as he chuckled at her exuberance.

"I take it your vacation went well, then." Yuffie smiled brilliantly up at him, nodding over enthusiastically. Godo failed to notice the emptiness of the gesture, though Tseng took full note of her closed eyes and hollow laugh. Two things she did to hide the truth. One had to know exactly what they were looking for and how to find it if they wanted to know when she was lying and only three people knew her that well. Tseng, her mother, and Vincent.

"Great, actually! I'm so glad I took it." She laughed again, driving the false point home for Godo. Inside she was throttling the man for even asking her such a stupid question. _'Not his fault, not his fault.' _She repeated over and over, forcing a smile through the rest of their afternoon. It couldn't possibly get any worse…at least for now.

**_XxXxX_**

**A/N: Incase anyone was wondering…no, I do not own them. They are all property of Square enix. **

Ok…so this took a turn because I decided that it was pretty unrealistic that they'd just magically get to have their happy ending. Hopefully it isn't too angsty. A little is ok, but too much weighs my story down. I'm actually kinda happy with it. I've got the last three chapters outlined, maybe this will help me update sooner. I think this is also the longest chapter yet for this fic. Kinda slow, sorry.

As always, suggestions, comments, and if need be flames are welcome.


	7. The Injection

_**Note:** So, still don't own anything. Possible spelling errors :) This is more or less what I'd had planned from the beginning. _

_My computer is new and so is the stupid Microsoft works thingy, please feel free to point out any weird errors as this version is loath to even tell me when I've so much as misspelled a word...jerk._

_**

* * *

**_For the next two weeks Yuffie had a hard time sleeping, lost her appetite, and found her smile had all but vanished. She was hurt, angry and she missed him. It had been one thing to have their periodic tiffs over nothing and forgive each other by the next visit, but this was completely different. She'd shared something with him, something deeper than friendship. _'Maybe that's what hurts the most?' _She mused over a cup of what was once hot sake.

"Damn it…" Yuffie groaned with a frown as she downed another shot of the warm liquid. She'd been in a foul mood since she left Wutai and now that she was in Cosmo Canyon with Nanaki and Bugenhagen helping to work out a deal with the Sovereign Nations of Wutai and the Canyon to allow researchers and archeologists' to investigate the cliffs of Da Chao for fossilized remains of something ancient and mystical, as the canyon folk were oft to do, she was beginning to feel fatigued and overwhelmed. "Well done, kid. You made a fool of yourself again." She sucked down shot after shot, idly wondering if he felt the same way. "Leviathan he was _good_ though…" She smirked crookedly at her bottle and confidant for the time being. "He has this way of just…well, you wouldn't understand. I mean, you're clay, I'm a girl and yo-"

"I've seen you do some wild and poorly thought out decisions, but this seems to win out over them all." Nanaki chuckled as Yuffie swiveled and toppled over from her sitting position.

_"Itai…"_She rubbed the sore spot on her head. "That's gotta be a new first, huh? Yuffie fell off the floor." Yuffie giggled uncontrollably, gasping and clutching at her side. "You should see your face." Yuffie giggled harder as Nanaki sighed, catching a glimpse of a nearly empty sake bottle that would give even Cid a run for his gil.

"What is bothering you?" Nanaki cocked his head to one side. Yuffie took several seconds to comprehend what the one-eyed cat was asking.

"Nothing…" She whispered, sobering quickly. He watched her a moment, her smile faded slowly and she visibly shrank away from him. "I don't really want to talk…sorry."

"Very well, I'll just be lying here if you need anything." He motioned to a spot on the ground beside her make shift bed. "You know, we have plenty of rooms for you to stay in." Nanaki mumbled through his forearm.

"I know…thank you." She was quiet again, something that he had thought would be delightful when it happened…however he found himself yearning for her loud laughing, bizarre pranks, and God's forgive him, he wished she would just _talk. _But he had never been the one to push her anywhere, and seeing her so fragile was a bit of a twist and even Bugenhagen had been at a loss for how to help the young woman. _'Time heals all wounds.'_Nanaki thought idly, smiling to himself.

Yuffie finished her business in Cosmo Canyon, and having made a quick phone call to Reeve, passed off the Mideel job. She just couldn't focus enough to properly handle the situation, though she simply told Reeve she'd fallen ill with the flu and was going to see 'Nurse Tifa'. She headed to Edge and stayed at the bar, 'Final Heaven'. Tifa didn't ask, didn't prod, she didn't even act like she noticed Yuffie was under the weather. Instead she cracked jokes, baked, stayed up late eating double chocolate chunk ice cream and watching cheesy horror flicks while they gossiped about 'Nyla Higgins and her yard boy' and 'Dyluk the mechanic and his secret love affair with a Wutaian seamstress named Lady Hiroshi, and how romantic and beautiful it was'. Not once did Yuffie mention anything about Vincent and her misadventures there. He called twice since she'd left the mansion and she ignored it both times, he hadn't bothered to leave a message. She wasn't ready, though she wasn't even sure what she was so angry about anymore…she wanted him to call and he did, so why didn't she just answer the phone?!

"So Reeve says there's about to be a big break in the thing with Vincent and his 'cure'. Cloud is more skeptical than anything. He keeps saying that 'they' need to leave Vincent's body alone. It's entirely likely that it'll fix itself in time, what with his freaky self healing and what have you. I told him he probably thought of all that and just wants to get this done with as soon as possible, I mean c'mon this is the first sign of anything positive for him that he's had in thirty some odd years. He deserves the chance to at least get his hopes up, which I know is terrible to say…but aren't I right? I mean…never growing old, outliving everyone and everything you know and love?" Yuffie simply nodded at Tifa, who had finally stopped to take a breath.

"You know, you've got a point and everything, but what happens if the cure has some weird retro-active effect on him? You know, like he ages to seventy something all at once. It'd kill him. I don't think he's as 'immortal' as he thinks he is. He has these wrinkles at the corners of his mouth that weren't there before and his voice is deeper, he's filled out quite a bit…cause before he was all lean and stuff but now he's-"

"_Yuffie?" _Tifa gave Yuffie a comically judgmental stare. "Something you want to share with me?" She smirked haughtily at Yuffie's blush.

"Oh come on, like this is new news to you…" Yuffie folded her arms across her chest defensively. "I'm just saying it sort of freaks me out." Yuffie waved her hand dismissively.

"He could lead a _normal _life, Yu. You know, grow old, wrinkle…get grey hair. He could be normal." Tifa argued.

"He's _not _normal, Tif. He's Vincent freaking Valentine, he's a hero and part of Avalanche…not just some guy who tripped and fell into mako one day. This is just too…I don't know, easy?" Yuffie shrugged as she stood and began cleaning up their late night mess.

"I know." Tifa had nothing left to say so she opted to head upstairs. "I'm off to bed, missy. You should get some sleep…and call Vincent, I'm sure he can put your silly worries to rest." Tifa laughed at Yuffie's frown. "What, now you don't want to talk to him? Yuffie, you're as capricious as the rain." Tifa waved goodnight and reminded Yuffie not to stay up too late, and to lock all the doors, and to make sure she was warm enough…and ended with Yuffie reminding Tifa _she_ was a grown-up now.

Yuffie looked at her phone again, yesterday had been the second time he'd called and she'd ignored it. She opened it, half dialing the number by heart, then stopped. She didn't know exactly what to say. She thought a moment longer before finally dialing and waiting, with baited breath, for him to answer.

"_Vincent Valentine…"_Yuffie felt her hopes fall. Perhaps she'd really hurt him by leaving angry. Though he never really answered his phone anyway, and if this were any other time she wouldn't have thought twice about it…but she was quick to come to the conclusion he'd given up on her.

"Uh…hi, Vince. I just…um…wanted to say 'good luck' and all, hope you're cured or whatever." She gave a false laugh. "I-uh…maybe I'll try you later, I can't remember when the big day is, so if you could…uh, well let Cloud or Reeve know…they could…um…they could just deliver the message for you if you'd like. Bye." She hung up and sighed, wishing now more than ever that her time with him had never happened.

* * *

During the next few days Vincent drew into himself while Juno busied herself with all the preparations she'd have to make. He'd done another round of blood work and had physicals almost daily now, it was a bit grueling, but it kept his mind somewhat clear for the time being.

He'd heard Yuffie had walked away from one of her assignments, a first for her. Reeve mentioned something about her being tired and 'troubled'. He'd even asked _him_ to talk to her, thinking they were on such great terms. It meant that, at the very least, she wasn't telling everyone what he'd done…though now even he wasn't really sure what had happened. He'd tried to tell her…but he was who he was and it wasn't as if he had some switch he could flip that would allow for him to just up and express himself like she could.

He'd tried talking to Nanaki, who only said she'd been drinking a bit heavily while she was there, something Yuffie had been prone to do when she was with Cid, though this sounded less like she was having a good time and more like she was struggling. Nanaki urged him to talk to her, causing him to rethink the idea that Yuffie hadn't spoken of their encounter.

Vincent had called her twice, this last time he decided she wanted to be left alone and had every intention of letting her have her space. He'd been out of the room when she'd called back and he nearly smiled when he saw she'd left a message. Vincent didn't call her right back, instead he was happy enough with her message and left well enough alone.

_**XxXxX**_

It was three weeks after Yuffie left, a full two weeks later than Juno had intended to get started. Vincent had listened to Yuffie's message from a few days earlier more times than he could count. He tried to keep her laugh fresh in his memory, something to hold onto while he prepared for the most terrifying moment of his life since having Chaos thrust upon him.

"Preparations have been made, I believe we're ready, Doctor." One of her many assistants said, speaking in a hushed tone. Vincent listened, his eyes closed as he sat patiently, listening to all the beeps and hums of the lab equipment. It was more than unnerving, however his extensive training had served him well and even his heart rate did not give away his current nervous state. He mulled over his conversation with Yuffie, and the phone call he'd made to Tifa.

"_Hello Vincent, how are you?" _Tifa had sounded delightfully surprised to be receiving a phone call from him, something he made a mental note of.

"I am well...Yuffie had wished to be informed prior to the treatment. I was unable to reach her, I believe she had business in Wutai with Lord Godo and Emperor Tseng." An unspoken question lingered there. Tifa didn't volunteer that Yuffie had been staying at her house, only that she had been by a few times. Tifa was notorious for hidding the princess, Yuffie trusted her explicitly and Vincent could respect that.

_"Yes, Vincent, I will call her and tell her. She's been a bit of a ghost these last few days. Cloud says good luck and to call us as soon as you're done." _Tifa paused a second. _"I wish we'd known sooner, I would have liked to have been there with you during something like this." _Her voice was soft and worried and Vincent knew why. It was no secret to those that knew him, though. Cloud could empathize well, this was not going to be an easy thing to sit through.

"Thank you, Tifa." She knew he was being sincere, he wished the same at that moment though he would have rather had Yuffie standing beside him if he could've helped it. Again he cringed inwardly, he should've said that at least. Anything would've been better than his pathetic attempt at self preservation. "I would have been glad to have you, however I must do this on my own." He wasn't proud of himself for lying to Tifa, this wasn't at all something he should've been doing alone and he knew it all too well. "I must be going, I have to be down to the lab in one hour." Tifa hummed her agreement and said her goodbye's. Vincent glared at the phone for a good five minutes, as if he could intimidate it into calling Yuffie. He'd only ever half dialed her number a dozen times, a number he knew by heart...she'd called him every chance she got in the past. Now it had been two weeks without so much as an annoying text message. He found it strange, odd to have upset her so much that she wouldn't even acknowledge him. He hated to admit it, hated how true it was, and hated himself more for not telling her...he needed her, he was actually nervous, for the first time since Turk training...and if he was going to be honest and hating himself for something, it was his fear. Every fiber of his being was filled with an intense fear that made his stomach churn and took his breath away.

If only everything were as simple as it had been when he was asleep in that coffin, he could have easily slept eternity away and never have known her...it would still hurt, he'd still suffer, and really she was the reason it didn't hurt so intensely now. When this was over he'd go and find her, tell her something, anything to bring her home. He understood now, the feeling that drove Cloud to his extremes. He had nearly broken when she'd finally given up, all the things that made up Cloud's universe came crashing down around him and he did what Vincent felt he never could. He held her and cried, not the sobbing of any child who didn't get their favorite toy, but the silent and painful tears of a person pushed beyond their breaking point. He'd said it simply, no theatrics, _'Tifa, I love you and I don't know how to show you. I love you and I don't know how to say it, I just want you to **know **I do...and that I'll protect you, stay near you...if you'll still have me.'_Tifa had never said a word to anyone about the moment, save for Yuffie who was privy to any and all secrets. She'd shared it with Vincent two years back during one of their late night talks...the same night he wanted to confess that he cared more for her visits than he let on. Now she was gone and he was alone...again. And really, what hurt the most, was being so close...being right there, her in his arms and all but saying the words…

Vincent's eyes shot open with a start, two things becoming quite painfully clear. His leg was vibrating, which wasn't so much as painful as it was shocking. The painful, scary truth was staring him in the face then.

'_I love you…' _God's above, she'd said it. She had said she loved him and he'd never said anything in return...but he felt it, she should have known that. She knew what he was thinking, could guess what he was feeling by a look or a twitch of his lips, she knew him...really _knew_ him. He, it appeared, was an idiot. He groped his pocket the best he could, fumbling for the offending device. The number flashing on the screen made him tense.

"Hello…?" His voice was unusually strained, only she would hear it and know why.

_"Vince...I, uh...just wanted to say 'good luck'. I-"_ She sighed heavily into the phone. _"Shit. If I'd known this was happening today I would have come back, I'm so, so sorry. You shouldn't be alone for this, I should've st-"_ She meant it, he could tell by the way her voice seemed to shake.

"Do not worry, princess...I am pleased enough to hear your voice." He whispered to the receiver, cutting her off. She gasped at that, he frowned, as he was prone to do in any new and unfamiliar situation involving the ninja.

_"Well...Good bye, Vincent. Call when you can, please. I need to know...that, uh...you're ok."_ Her voice broke ever so slightly and again Vincent knew any lesser man would have missed it...

"As you wish..." She hung up then, he lay back and closed his eyes, picking his brain over her reaction. _'Hadn't that been what she'd wanted to hear? Has she moved on and away from him?' _He hadn't had enough time to really submerge himself in his own worries before Juno came up to stand beside him. He opened one eye, watching her warily. Her smile was warm and comforting, her hands gently clasped his and he opened both eyes, giving her his full attention.

"I have to tell you this, the tests are all looking great, however if something should happen I've prepared a sort of antiserum. I wont take any chances, if the chemicals become unstable I will inject you immediately, though there is no guarantee that it can fully reverse any..._damage_ done. Do you understand?" Vincent nodded slowly, tightening his grip on her hand.

"Should I begin to die...yes, I understand." He thought for a moment, death would be a welcome retreat after what he'd been through these last seventy some years. _'Yuffie would not be there, not in death...' _That thought seemed to strike a chord and he stiffled a gasp.

"We're ready then, Vincent." She leaned down and placed a soft kiss against his forehead. "For luck…" She explained with a gentle smile.

_**XxXxX**_

_...Two hours later..._

Reeve sat in his office, listening to a message from Yuffie detailing the resolution of the situation in Cosmo Canyon. It had been a quiet week, save for today. Today Vincent went under the needle and everyone in their make-shift family seemed to be on edge. Cid had refused to take any flights that took him away from Edge, in the event that Barrett, Cloud, and Tifa would be needed. Yuffie put herself on stand-by and the Turks were all on alert in Nibelhiem with Rufus, who had taken a 'Vacation day' and refused to deal with anything that didn't involve Dr. Crescent giving him good news. Reeve eyed the clock, 5:47pm. He glanced back down at the paper work when what sounded like a herd of stampeding Behemoths startled him out of his concentration.

"Sir!" Shelke stood breathless and beyond pale, several officers in heavy tactical gear in toe. "It's Vi-" Reeve didn't let her finish as he lept up from his seat.

"Let's go, alert everyone, call Cid, we need tran-" Shelke held up a slender hand.

"I've taken care of everything already, we need to go now." Her tone was calm as ever, though her expression read like an open book, showing clearly how terrified she was. She had been waiting by the phone all day and this was _not _the call she wanted to receive. "I just spoke with Cloud and he says that he, Tifa, Tseng and Elena will be there by nightfall, Cid is already on his way to retrieve them. As are Rufus and the Turks." Reeve noticed with a jolt she hadn't mentioned Yuffie. He stopped and looked back at her with a silent question. "I couldn't reach her, she must be off the grid." Shelke answered.

"Tifa will find her, she always does." Reeve rubbed his nose irritably. "How bad is it?"

Shelke didn't answer right away, taking a seat in the helicopter beside him. He looked at her, eyes searching hers. "Shelke?" She turned slowly, her pale features become increasingly more ashen by the second.

"He's..._decaying._" Shelke managed to choke out.

"What?!" Reeve kicked the pilots seat. "Anytime this century, _Sir!_ Let's not rush out to see my _**dying** _friend!" Reeve bellowed furiously. The pilot jumped, shocked completely by Reeve's sudden outburst. Reeve turned back to Shelke as they lifted off and sped toward Dr. Creston's lab. Tears trickled down from her blank eyes, though he saw her fingers gripping her knee's with flesh tearing strength so he spoke slowly and as gently as he could. "Shelke, explain what exactly you mean by...decaying."

**_XxXxX_**

**A/N:**_ So? Dark and twisty? I can't tell what's wrong with this, if anything...I feel like I'm screwing up the timing...but I've read it twice and just keep finding words spelled wrong or stuck together. For some reason italics stick to regular font. Anyway, any issues aside, I hope you enjoy it. Next chapter is likely going to take me a week or two, I don't have much time to write lately. As always, reviews, critisism...I really can't spell...and flames, them too...whatever you want. Thanks for reading ;)_


	8. Peccavi

_**Note: **__So this is really the second half to the other chapter and is so named as this chapter takes a bit of a…well, lets just say this is more on the dark side than twisty…though it is twisty. I really hope it isn't as rushed as the last chapter, I'm actually not all that happy with how it came out but after spending all week writing it I don't know if I'm fixing it or just making it worse..._

_**XxXxX**_

Tifa, Rufus, and the others sat quietly in the corner of the waiting room while Cloud and Reeve spoke with one of Doctor Creston's assistance, Ainsley. Tifa stifled a sob as best she could, covering her mouth quickly. Rufus glanced over at her and without a second thought collected the young woman into his arms. Tifa turned into his shoulder and wept silent tears, sobs wracking her slender frame.

"Hush now, Miss Lockheart…he is stronger than you give him credit." Rufus whispered against her hair. "He will come through this…" He wasn't sure if maybe he was trying to convince himself more than her, either way she seemed to calm and her sobs began to subside.

"I should have been here…" She whispered shakily.

"We all should have, you take too much on yourself…" Tifa leaned back, her beautiful mahogany eyes glittering with sorrow. "We _all_ should have been here to stand by him…" Tifa frowned then, she could have come down sooner, tried calling more often. Yuffie was really the only one that went out of her way to…see…him.

"_YUFFIE! _Gods, I need to call her!" Tifa dialed Yuffie's number quickly. _"Yuffie Kisaragi, WRO Chief of Staff- leave a message." _Tifa growled at her phone, causing Cloud to flinch. "Damnit, Yuffie! Call me as soon as you get this message!" Tifa half cried into the phone.

"I have tried Miss Kisaragi several times, Miss Lockheart, she is not currently reachable." Shelke spoke in her usual monotone, her pale face clearly showing her anxiety.

"Did you try Godo?" Tseng nodded in response.

"She was not at the palace when Elena and I left, Lord Godo has heard nothing from her in several days, not since she had business in Wutai." Elena placed a soothing hand over Tseng's.

Cloud stood suddenly, Tifa at his side, as Dr. Creston approached the group.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news…" Tifa grabbed for Cloud's hand as everyone held their breath.

* * *

Shelke had read the report cover to cover and had carefully reviewed the video documentation of the whole project up to the day of the injection. Reeve had stopped in from time to time, reading some of the material and excusing himself when it was too much for him.

The video of the injection itself started off the same as the others, Juno introducing herself and Vincent as 'The Specimen'. She injected the first round, his vitals began to rise steadily. His heart rate went from the mid sixties to the high ninety's in the span of a minute, his blood pressure rose to what Shelke knew to be dangerous and Vincent began to pant and sweat profusely.

She shuddered as she watched the doctor inject him with the second half of the serum. His body began to convulse and contort painfully, his back arching at an impossible angle off the table and his skin, already a pale complexion, began to change to the color of a faded bruise and every jerk tearing the now fragile tissue. Shelke looked away briefly as he began screaming. The doctor injected a mako enhanced protoplasm into his blood stream. There was an instant reaction, his heart rate dropped dangerously low as his blood pressure appeared to be doing the same, his wounds began to stabilize and his convulsions ceased. This ended the video, the look of failure and obvious disappointment written clearly on the doctors face as she turned to the camera, announcing the prototype serum was a failure.

Reeve had walked in just before that and quickly crossed the room to his fiancé, carefully closing the device. "That's enough, Shelke."

He ran a soothing hand against her cheek. "I've been reading over everything she documented, and based on what I know from Lucrecia's work and the specifics of the experiments done on Mr. Valentine, I believe Dr. Creston overlooked the extent to which his body was contaminated." Shelke's voice was tired and strained.

"What do you mean?" Reeve asked looked over the reports scattered across his desk, he sounded tired.

"His very DNA is connected to the mako, during thirty year coma his blood began to break down and as it did it weakened his bodies defense. During its weakened state the mako enhanced cells were able to bond to his blood. It wasn't just the fact that his body housed the demon Chaos, it was the very mako in his blood giving him the strength to manage the demons. Chaos was the only self aware demon of the four and had it not been for the protomateria and the enhancements he would have been torn apart." Reeve nodded, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "It would be the equivalent of converting your blood to water, your body would not be able to sustain itself and would begin to deteriorate. Her serum would have negated the very cells that keep him alive…" Shelke spoke softly, Reeve watched her intently. "His body was fighting it on its own, it's fortunate that she had the equivalent to reverse the effects, she realized he bonded with the substance all the way down to a molecular level, she had injected him after only three minutes and already tremendous damage had been done." Reeve nodded in silent understanding.

"Also, we have not been able to locate Miss Kisaragi…" Shelke continued, speaking softly. Reeve's eyes shot up to meet hers.

"She hasn't reported in? That is very unlike her…Where was she last?" He immediately began running through a list of places she'd last been. His eyes lit up suddenly, "Didn't Tifa say she'd taken off to go see-" the phone in Reeve's office rang in an outside line, only a handful of people knew that number. Shelke checked the caller id and nodded once.

Reeve slowly lifted the receiver. "Hello?"

"_Hey Reeve, I have like thirty seven missed calls from you and Tifa…what gives?" _She sounded completely annoyed and unaware of anything that had happened.

"Your ears must have been burning, we were just talking about you. We've been trying to get in contact with you all week. Are you alright?" Reeve was relieved to hear her voice, though concerned that she'd been MIA for so long.

"_Well yeah…I was out in Mideel, shitty reception. What? Nothing could have gone that wrong in a week." _Yuffie laughed over the phone.

"Did you even listen to any of your messages?" His tone grew serious.

"_No." _She spoke slowly.

"Yuffie…Vincent's procedure…it didn't go very well." She gasped over the phone. "He's been out of contact for a couple days, Juno hasn't seen him and no one can get him to answer his phone."

"_Has anyone gone to the mansion to see if he's there?" _She was already plotting her course there even while she spoke.

"Cloud went the other day, it's boarded up and he refused to allow even him to come in." Reeve could tell she was plotting something. "Be careful if you do go there, Yuffie. He's not himself right now."

_"He wont hurt me, Reeve. I'll go check on him."_ She paused then. _"How bad was it?"_

"He quite literally began to decompose…his mental state is questionable as well. Trauma like that can do a lot of damage." The line was dead silent and Reeve would have thought she hung up if it weren't for the background noise. "Yuffie, he very nearly died." Yuffie all but growled over the phone.

"_I knew this would happen, they really ought to just leave him alone…" _He could almost visualize her folding her arms defensively across her chest, though her tone sounded more let down than angry.

"Still, it was his decision, he knew what he was doing. The cure itself will work absolutely fine on the average person suffering mako poisoning, his cells have bonded to the mako, removing them would have undoubtedly killed him…It wasn't intentional and certainly not something just anyone would have known."

"_I know, it's not her fault Hojo's a creepy mad scientist, she was only trying to help. I get it." _Yuffie sighed into the receiver. _"Well, I'm off to see tall, dark, and nasty. I'll phone you if it doesn't go well…or if it does I suppose." _With that she hung up.

"Yuffie's going to see Vincent." Reeve spoke slowly, his brow knitted together in worry. Shelke placed a hand on his shoulder.

"She is the only one who truly understands him, they have a…connection, something none of the others have with him." She leaned in, allowing Reeve to place a chaste kiss against her lips. Her lips turned up at the corners in the barest hint of a smile.

"I hope it goes well." Reeve sighed, pulling the young woman into his arms, sighing in exhaustion as he leaned back in his chair. "I need a vacation if this goes well…" Shelke chuckled at him, kissing his forehead.

"I concur." She said with a smile.

_**XxXxX**_

Yuffie had traveled all day, racing the sun to Nibelheim. She arrived at the mansion just before high noon. She noticed as soon as she walked up the steps the doors and windows had recently been boarded up and there was an inconceivably large lock barring access through the front door. Yuffie was not at all deterred and carefully made her way up the side of the massive mansion and crept in through a small opening on the roof.

She was dead silent as she walked along the narrow hallways, noticing gouges and scratches of all shapes and sizes as she closed in on his room. There was dried blood smeared over the walls below, gouges marring the white walls. Yuffie felt her gut twist, she'd seen the video of him as the serum took effect courtesy of Shelke.

'_No…he's alive…he's here.' _She tried to remind herself. She kept her slow pace, inching closer and closer to his bedroom. She had her hand on the door knob when a sound that sent a jolt right through her greeted her.

"Stop Vin-Vincent…th-this is…_gods_…" It was Juno, she didn't have to look to confirm it. The sheer terror and something like arousal emanating from the woman's voice was enough to urge Yuffie on, her curiosity getting the better of her.

She dropped low to the floor and looked through the small opening. There was Juno, shoved against the wall with Vincent flush against her. His arms wrapped behind her and his strong hands gripping her shoulders as he bit into the skin of her neck. Yuffie felt bile rise up in her throat at what she was watching. His eyes were a deep gold, not at all the radiant crimson they were before. There was a madness there and it frightened even Yuffie. At the gut wrenching moan from Juno she stumbled back, a single picture falling to the ground and shattering the glass. Yuffie had been gone before it hit the floor, on Cloud's golden chocobo Jezebel and moving like the wind as far away as she could get from her own pain. As she crossed the wide empty desert she screamed in pure agony. The chocobo warked in what sounded like sympathy. She was running toward nothing, not caring where she went as long as he most certainly was _not_ there. The desert sand was warm and almost comforting and she was thankful the suffocating heat had no effect on her or the bird. She neared the edge of the desert and saw mountains rising up, the chocobo slowed, warking in concern. Yuffie urged Jezebel forward, whispering soothing words of encouragement.

Yuffie arrived at the top of what looked to be a very large crater, there was a waterfall on the opposite side. Yuffie recognized the place, though she'd only been here once long ago, and then she'd been forced to stay with Barrett and the stupid birds. She dismounted and started toward the waterfall, walking ahead of the golden chocobo along a narrow pathway leading her to the cave.

She wondered briefly if Vincent would wind up coming here, she really hoped not, she wasn't sure she could handle an encounter with him anytime soon. She didn't really know what she saw but it looked violent and provocative. Perhaps he still had feelings for the older woman. Yuffie groaned, rubbing the bridge of her nose irritably, pushing all thoughts of Vincent and his doctor out of her mind. Some time alone would help her think…and then she would ask Vincent what was really going on.

_**XxXxX**_

Juno cried out his name again, her pleading tone and the sound of glass breaking finally getting through to him. Juno's eyes were suddenly more green than he remembered and an image of silver flashed through his mind. '_Yuffie…what have I done?!' _He threw her to the ground, pressing himself as close to the wall as he could. Juno watched him silently, unshed tears shimmering behind her eyes.

"What…what did I-?" Vincent growled in frustration, feeling the familiar surge of the Galian beast rising up in him once again. "What…_what have you done_?!" he fell to the floor, gripping his head in pain. Juno managed to pull herself together before slowly approaching him. "Go…please." He spoke in a low tone that sounded more like a growl, hunched over grabbing his head as though he were in pain.

"Vincent, I jus-" She began, her fingers dancing against his bare shoulder.

"_GET OUT!"_ He roared, like he hadn't in years, he bellowed at her. She jumped back, stumbling on shaky legs. "Go, before something else happens…I can-can't control myself…please leave, _Doctor._" She caught the bitterness as he spit out her title as though it were poison.

"I'm sorry, Vincent." She quickly ran from the room. She heard what sounded like screaming and bones breaking. What she saw was something so terrifying she nearly vomited. A massive creature, his limbs too large to be natural, in fact he looked as though he'd been put together with spare parts. The thought sickened her and as it reached for her she opened her mouth to scream, horrified to find nothing but the coppery electric taste of adrenaline and bile. The hand stopped short and Juno was thankful. Darkness quickly clouded her vision and the ground was suddenly rushing up to greet her, the last thing she heard was that wretched screaming and bones realigning themselves. He didn't deserve this. She'd come to check on him and what she found was more pain and torment than any living creature on this planet should ever have the misfortune of experiencing. She'd caused it with her attempt at helping him.

Vincent looked down at her, regret boiling in his gut. Memories of Lucrecia and Hojo and the torture he'd suffered at their hands were quickly resurfacing. Carefully collecting her he headed toward the hospital she worked in, passing her off to one of the orderlies and leaving just as quickly. He felt furry building up within him like a fire out of control, and racing back toward the mansion he had one goal.

His inhuman strength made short work of the building. He tore the doors off their hinges, shattered windows and destroyed his living room. He crushed the armoire holding books and photographs, paper and pictures when flying into the air as Vincent collapsed to the floor, gasping as he struggled to rein in his demons. Every second he grew stronger and yet every time they had control it seemed hopeless. He stared with unseeing eyes at the floor, vaguely aware of a picture that had fallen into his field of vision. It was Yuffie standing beside him and Nanaki at the church following the defeat of Kadaj and his gang. An extreme sense of calm flooded through him as he gazed down at her, her soft childlike smile and youthful innocence stirring something within him. As quickly as the moment came it was gone and rage replaced remorse. He ran from the ravaged building, casting a 'Fire 3' spell over his shoulder, setting the mansion ablaze.

He ran through the night, hijacking a golden chocobo for the first time in thirty seven years. He ran on until he reached the one place no one would come looking for him…the haunted forest even he in his Turk days had refused to go anywhere near. They would be safe with him locked away there.

* * *

Tifa called Reeve in a panic. Yuffie had gone to the mansion, she'd called Tifa when she was right outside…however it had been two days since and not a word from the ninja. She'd turned her phone off or simply refused to answer any of the messages sent. Godo had gone out looking for her himself, trying every place she'd hid when she was younger. Her cats were unfed and hostile toward anyone but Cid, which under different circumstances, many would find amusing. As it was Cid fed the cats and found no trace of Yuffie having even stopped in to see them. Cloud checked the Golden Saucer, even Don Corneo said he hadn't seen her, and offered to keep an eye out for the wayward princess. Reeve had gone through all of his channels, trying everywhere, Gongaga Jungle, Mideel, Cosmo Canyon, and even Chocobo Billy's ranch only to come up completely empty handed.

Tifa was the one who had the first break of anything, being the only one who adamantly demanded they check the mansion. Reeve even said Yuffie had gone their first. Though, once she got there she was devastated at what she found.

"Cloud, it's been burnt to the ground, it's nothing but _ashes!_" Tifa was yelling hysterically into the phone, Shera patting her shoulder reassuringly. "Oh God…where are they?" Shera managed to catch Tifa as her knees gave out, holding her as she broke down completely in her arms, the singed golden claw that was once Vincent's left arm held firmly to her chest.

"Cloud, dear? I believe you might want to head on down here and pick us up…she's in a real bad way." Shera's lightly accented voice was soothing and soft, completely the opposite of her dear sweet husband.

"_We're on our way, Cid just started the 'Shera' up…be there in an hour or two." _Cloud hung up and Shera put all her attention on Tifa as reality shattering sobs tore threw her.

"There, there, sweetheart…this will all work itself out, just you wait." Shera smoothed the hair away from Tifa's tear soaked cheeks. It was an hour and a half later and Tifa had calmed down. She and Shera had been trying to think of all the places the two would have run off two when the airship landed. Cid welcomed Shera with a warm hug, embracing her and kissing her neck absently.

"I love you, woman." He whispered. She chuckled and patted his back gently.

"I know, dear." They left Cloud to talk to Tifa. She frowned as he walked to her, giving her a reassuring hug before following them into the airship. He sat by her side the entire flight, Cid was convinced he didn't even blink. He just stared at Tifa and that stupid golden arm.

"Who the hell'd burn down th' goddamned mansion?" Cid bit out, watching Cloud out of the corner of his eye.

"Vincent." Cloud mumbled, trying to figure out why he'd left the claw and burned down his home. It seemed like something he would do, maybe in a fit of rage…This meant the two had to have seen each other. "Yuffie must have been there…she had to have seen him, he only loses his self control when she's around." Cloud paused. "Besides, he wont _let_ anyone else find him." Cid nodded at that.

"And just _why_ do you think she is the reason he burned the mansion down?" Shera spoke up suddenly. Cloud and Cid shared a look, trying to sum up all the reasons she might drive him to such extremes. Stealing his materia, cape, gauntlet…which had been ruled out since it was in Cloud's hand. Nothing really struck them as something she'd do. "You said yourself, he only loses his self control when she's involved." Cloud huffed, blowing a golden lock away from his eyes. Cid frowned in thought. "I believe there is more to this than we are seeing…at any rate it looks like something done in the heat of passion. He's reacting to something she triggered." Shera sat thoughtfully rewiring what looked like a small radio. "If you think about it…it's as obvious as the nose on your face." She looked up to Cloud, who instinctively felt his nose. "It's a figure of speech." Tifa chuckled at that.

"What Shera's trying to say is she's in love with him, Cloud." She gave his knee a gentle pat.

"And further more, he clearly feels the same way…he's fighting the desire to give in while she's trying to hide it." With that she returned to silence and wires. "I've been working on this bloody baby monitor for weeks and it's finally finished." She beamed up at Cid, who smirked back at her.

"Shera's th' only gal I know who would rather rewire something than knit the baby a sweater." Cid remarked, full of pride.

'Cloud chuckled at Cid. His mind began to wander back to Yuffie and Vincent, and he couldn't seem to stop thinking about what Shera said. _'Love? Yuffie?'_ Cloud thought for a moment, and it did make sense…under normal circumstances. This was anything but and she was his only friend, his best friend…hell, he didn't think Vincent even know he _was_ a man anymore with the way he locked himself away from human contact. But then again, there was that weird thing between him and Juno. And the fact that he was always so protective of the little ninja.

"I think she's right." Cloud spoke quietly, running his fingers through Tifa's hair, remembering that feeling of desperation. "I've been there before…" he mused, watching Tifa as she turned to smile softly up at him.

"Let's give Yuffie a chance…she just might know what she's doing." Tifa spoke up. "I know she loves him, she has since we found him, and Ifrit will be handing out ice cream in Midgar before she gives up on Vincent." Cloud smirked in agreement. "No matter what has happened we should let her try, has anyone talked to Dr. Creston? She may have some idea as to where he has gone." Cloud produced his PHS.

"I'll give her a call, you should call Barrett and the kids. Make sure he's still alive." Tifa chuckled, going to sit beside Shera, running her fingers gently across her extended belly. Both women chuckled as the baby gave a fierce kick against Tifa's open palm.

"Not much longer, is it?" Shera shook her head, rubbing her belly.

"Maybe three weeks, if I'm lucky." She shifted slightly, frowning in discomfort. "I can't wait, I don't know how much more abuse my ribs can take." Shera patted her aching ribs and then smiled up at her husband.

The stifling mood had dissipated quickly and the remainder of the flight was spent discussing Shera and the baby. Cid beamed with pride at his wife as she rambled about how wonderful it was to finally have children of their own and the great things Cid had done to their home, and how the hardest part for them now was choosing a name.

Tifa stared out the window, her mind running in circles trying to figure out where Yuffie and Vincent went, if they were they looking for one another? She hoped, at the very least, they were okay. She tried Yuffie once more, sending her a single text message.

'_Find him…you are the only one who can bring him home.' _

_**XxXxX**_

_**Another Note:** Peccavi is latin for 'I have sinned'. It seemed some what apropriate for the situation...next chapter will have a surprise guest star._

_Critique it, I know it needs it. Thanks for all the kind reviews!! I really appreciate the encouragement :)  
-Now if only I could spell a little better-_


	9. Venia

_**Note:** So I just re-read 'Unrequited' by a . girl . named . jake (just take out the spaces) and I strongly recommend everyone else do the same…however, I seemed to have inadvertently stolen her Chocobo, with the notable exception that this one is Cloud's, Gold, and a girl and hers is brown, a boy, and way too cute for its own good. Sorry about that._

_Venia: Forgiven_

**_XxXxX_**

Yuffie took a few tentative steps inside the cave. It wasn't dark at all, to her surprise. The mako crystals littering the inside lit it up with an ethereal light. She moved deeper, shushing the chocobo as it warked anxiously for her.

"_Oh for Gaia sake, it's a damn cave. Get in here or be quiet!"_ She hissed back at the golden bird.

After a moments hesitation it took a few steps and then ran to her side. She chuckled, rubbing it's beak and neck in an attempt to soothe it.

"Don't worry, I'm here and no one will get you." That seemed to calm Jezebel down as she resigned herself to following her fearless leader through the mysterious cave. Yuffie made her way through the pillars of mako and stone until she came to a pool of what looked to be the purest water she'd ever seen. Her eyes traveled slowly along the pools surface until she noticed a massive crystal formation in the center._ "Leviathan…_is that Lucrecia?" She didn't think she'd even had control over her own legs as she moved toward her. The woman was beautiful, more beautiful than anyone she had ever seen. Long soft brown hair, porcelain white skin.

'_I'm sorry…'_ She stopped dead in her tracks, glancing all around her and then back at the crystallized woman. She was arms length from it now and some strange urge compelled her to reach out and touch it.

"Warm? You're…warm. Who…did this to you?" She couldn't help herself, a sudden wave of the most soul breaking sorrow ripped through her. She fell to her knees, tears running down her cheeks. Hopelessness, desperation, and a sorrow so intense she wanted to give up and die.

'_Yuffie…' _It was that strange voice again, though this time it didn't bother her. She wept, unashamed, her bitter tears mixing with the water at her feet. A strange finality settled over her as she realized she was feeling everything the woman locked in mako before her felt. She looked up as a faint glimmer of light from within the crystal prison caught her eye. She saw aqua blue eyes staring back at her as a soft hand cupped her cheek.

"I-I'm sorry…I'm s-so so sorry…" Yuffie didn't know why she apologized, she just knew she had to. Someone had to own up to the torment this woman had suffered, and in that instant she never hated Hojo more. She'd always known what Vincent had suffered, even though he never said so out loud, she knew. She'd never met Lucrecia, she'd always thought she had been the one to break Vincent and then cast him by the wayside. Now, however, she realized the extent of her love for him, and the sorrow of her loss.

'Yuffie understood in that one shinning moment what it was to be _Vincent Valentine_. To feel such incredible responsibility despite knowing it was not you who had done wrong, merely that _you_ were the one who could not save her. Yuffie felt something like sympathy for her, she had been one of the people responsible for killing her son, the son she never saw and could never love. Yuffie stared back at the woman in white, beyond words and full of an agonizing sadness so deep she wished her heart would just give out.

'_These sins are mine and mine alone…they are not yours to weep for.' _The softness of her voice reminded Yuffie of Aeris, of flowers, and Wutai in spring. It was a pure, otherworldly sound, and she could see why Vincent would love her.

"I don't understand, I was one of those responsible for killing your _son_." Yuffie hung her head, the gentle hand caressing her cheek.

'_He was never mine…' _There was definite sadness there, and Yuffie felt the urge to throw her arms around the woman. To give birth to a child and never see it, knowing just that he would live only to destroy, murder hundreds in cold blood…to know you created this life and he was a monster.

"I'm sorry…" Yuffie's eyes shot up at the sound of laughter, mirthless as it was.

'_Daughter of Leviathan, you have nothing to apologize for.' _Yuffie blushed suddenly. Her sadness quickly replaced with embarrassment. _'Vincent needs you now, he cannot win this fight alone.' _The change in her tone startled Yuffie, as did the seriousness of what and whom she was speaking of.

"I don't think he really needs me that much." Yuffie glared down at her feet, the image of Juno held in his strong arms still fresh in her mind.

'_Illusions, mirages…he is struggling with a madness neither you nor myself will ever truly understand.' _Yuffie shuddered, she hadn't realized until now just what she was seeing, his eyes full of amber hued insanity. That was an image she would not soon forget.

"Galian…that was the Galian beast, not him." Yuffie mused aloud. "Hellmasker...Death Gigas...the serum must have unleashed them. Then that means..." She continued to mumble to herself. "Vincent can't control his demons anymore." She leaped to her feet, now starring at the lifeless crystal holding Lucrecia. There at the foot of the crystal prison sat a small metal instrument. She collected it quickly, shoving it in her pack and grabbing Jezebel's reigns. "Let's go…" The golden bird knelt to allow Yuffie to climb onto her back before sprinting north, to the 'Sleeping Forest'.

They arrived late and Yuffie was more than surprised to find the Inn had one room available. She stabled Jezebel and made her way toward her room one weary step at a time. She quickly changed to something to sleep in and collapsed into the welcome heat of the warm bed sheets. She dreamt then, of her mother and her childhood. She dreamt of a place far away from there, a place where she was warm and safe. She reveled in the feeling, excited by the jolt she felt just by acknowledging the simplicity of her feelings. Warmth, it seemed, was all she'd ever wanted…and in this dream she had it. She was surrounded on all side by red, blood red…and an intensity that could only be Vincent and his demons.

She knew she would never forget that feeling, seeing him change from man to beast and back again in the blink of an eye. She'd never rid herself of his anguished cries as Chaos took control, though she never stopped trying to help him. He had always protected her, she felt the only way to truly pay him back was to give him that unyielding acceptance of what and who he was…and had been.

Her dream shifted and he was moving away from her, she was robbed of her warmth and with it security. She opened her mouth to try and call out to him and all she managed was an inaudible gasp. She watched as he vanished into the abyss of her nightmare. _'Don't go…don't leave me here alone…'_ She cried softly, collapsing to her knees.

'_He needs you…' _Yuffie's head jerked up, she looked around for the voice, drying her eyes with the back of her hand. She was surrounded then by darkness, a darkness beyond the pitch black of the Northern Crater.

"Wh-What? Who's there…?" She spun around frantically. She felt her presence before she saw her. "Lucrecia."

'_Do not be afraid.' _Her voice was just as beautiful and haunted as it was in the cave. In a strange way it reminded her of her mother. The suffocating presence of the woman was unbearable, and while Yuffie wished to help her, she felt she would just give up and die if she stayed near her for long.

Yuffie stood slowly, walking toward the woman. No matter how far she walked she never seemed to get any closer. "Why…why do you stay here? Isn't there something we can do? Vincent has spent his whole life trying to atone for you!" The woman lifted one elegant hand to Yuffie's cheek, suddenly standing mere inches from her.

'_I'm so sorry…' _Yuffie couldn't look away from her, Lucrecia smiled at her and she felt her heart skip a beat. _'Bring him home…' _The sorrow returned tenfold. Yuffie succumbed to the darkness once more, tears falling endlessly as she cried out for him. _'This is _his_ pain, Yuffie…you must understand his torment…and his love. He feels it all for you.' _Yuffie balked at that.

"_Why?! _Why would he feel _this_ over me? I've never given him a reason to!" Lucrecia's laugh was like a breath of fresh air or bells on the wind.

'_The truth is here, daughter of Leviathan.' _The woman touched her heart and Yuffie felt the world around her dim._ 'Everything he never knew he ever wanted. Acceptance, peace, comfort, something tangible he could protect…and care for. A love so pure as to drive away his demons.' _Yuffie wondered briefly if what she said was figurative or literal.

"I can save him…?" Lucrecia smiled, though she didn't answer. She gently kissed the young shinobi's forehead, sending her into oblivion.

Yuffie bolted up in bed, she jumped out of the sheets and dressed quickly. She didn't' stop and try to figure out just what she had seen, she was compelled beyond reason to hurry. She put all her things back in her knap sack and started for the door when a _thud_ caught her off guard. There against the bed post lay a lunar harp.

"The Sleeping Forest." Yuffie ran and grabbed the harp, opening the window and jumping down to the ledge just below. "Icicle Inn…I wonder if Jez-" A happy wark interupted her, she turned to see Jezebel stabled happily beside a black chocobo that easily dwarfed the happy-go-lucky golden bird.

"You ready to do this?" Jezebel warked in response. "Who am I kidding, you have no idea what I'm talking about…" Yuffie ruffled her feathers and saddled up. "Well just get me to the forest, I think I know where I'm going once we get there…maybe." Jezebel warked happily at her, eager to head out again.

* * *

Vincent realized that at some point he'd fallen asleep, and in his tortured sleep he fallen victim to his memories. He didn't fight them this time, he welcomed them in his misery. He had wanted nothing more than to sink into the warmth of Yuffie's arms and wait out this storm, protected in her sanctuary. The demons tested their bounds relentlessly and he knew it was only a matter of time before they managed to break free again. He felt a pang of regret coupled with grief at the thought of hurting Yuffie. He hadn't even realized it was happening until it was too late. He'd not only hurt Yuffie, but Juno as well. It was unforgivable.

"Lucrecia…" He had inflicted such great pain on those whom he had cared for in his lifetime. He wondered vaguely if this was how he was meant to atone for his misdeeds, his punishment for failing them.

The Sleeping Forest was known to play tricks on those who had the misfortune of wandering into the haunted woods without the harp. He thought of Lucrecia again, of the sweet smell of her hair and her soft hands. He could almost feel them…small and warm. He slowly opened his eyes and gave a startled shout at what he saw.

'_Do I disgust you now?' _She smiled as she spoke.

"N-no…" His voice wavered at first, before he had his wits fully about him. He didn't notice the world around him turn dark, his senses seemed to have been dulled by his new surroundings. "You...you're not real..."

'_I am as real as you want me to be…' _He gave her a wary glare, aware that his perception of what was and wasn't real was likely a little askew. She smelled, looked…hell, she even _felt_ like the woman he'd once known. He hadn't realized he hadn't moved at all until she spoke again. _'Vincent…do you hate me so much?' _He openly gaped at that, shocked and slightly hurt at her accusation.

"I-I could never hate you…I love you." In a sudden moment of weakness he fell to his knees at her feet, staring up at her with a helpless grimace. She brought her hands to his face once again, cupping both cheeks and whispering his name softly as she gently cradled his head against her abdomen, stroking his hair gently arms looped lazily around her hips. _He was holding her again_.

'_Oh…Vincent, I've waited so long…' _He watched her as she spoke, somehow not at all shocked by the fact that her lips did not move as she did. He failed to notice that her once warm hands were now gnarled talons gingerly gripping his head. Her skin began to darken and a thick coat of black hair sprang from every inch of exposed skin. Her eyes, once beautiful and crystal blue were now a tinted amber and more animalistic. He watched with morbid fascination as her perfect lips began to stretch and bare sharp canines.

"_LIES!" _He knew that voice, the guttural roar of something neither man nor beast. _'Galian'_ The demon wrenched his head painfully to one side, jerking him up off the ground and tossing him like a rag doll across the stone cave. He slid across sharp rocks and hit a stone wall with such force he was sure he'd broken a few ribs.

He groaned aloud as he struggled to his feet. "How is this…possible?" He leaned heavily against the wall of the cave he found himself in, blood trickled from a cut above his eye as well as his nose. He wiped what he could away as he looked up at the beast.

'_When he is best, he is a little worse than a man; and when he is worst, he is little better than a beast.__'_ The behemoth wolf like creature before him snarled viciously, gnashing his teeth at him. _'Look now, look on the horrors you have wrought.'_

Vincent jerked away from the scene before him. A child, no more than three years of age, lay prone in a pool of blood beside her father and the scattered remains of her mother. As he looked outward away from the carnage he saw an endless field of death and decay.

"This is not _**real…**_ I did not do this!**_"_** The demon laughed heartily, his teeth latching onto Vincent's arm, tearing the skin and dragging him further into the darkness

'_**No, not alone…' **__That_ voice terrified him, the thing rarely spoke. From the shadows came a massive creature, his knuckles dragging along the ground beside his feet. His voice sounded dead and hollow. His eyes were black as pitch, his neck held steady courtesy of the bolt straight through the middle of it. He saw flashes of horrific deeds, massacres and unimaginable evil. Some old and some new…most he remembered well from his Turk years, others memories of the demons haunting his subconscious.

Seeing himself killing others caused his stomach to lurch, he felt empty seeing how many lives he'd taken. He turned to see the bodies of those he'd killed all piled before him as though they were some sort of offering. They were writhing in agony, moaning his name.

"No….stop this…" The voices grew louder as he stared up at the collection of all his sins. A young man stood apart from the rest. He was possibly nineteen, his suit pressed and fitted perfectly. Glancing up once at Vincent and he instantly recognized his own ethereal crimson eyes and midnight hair…it seemed so unreal. As soon as he realized what he was looking at the scene changed again and the beast and Death Gigas staring him down. His heart kicked into overdrive, battering his wounded ribs. He prayed to every one of the God's he remembered that this would all end…

"Leviathan, save my wounded soul…" He bowed his head with regret and resignation.

'_**The devil can cite scripture for his purpose, Valentine…you will suffer.' **_He didn't flinch as the massive claw of the monster before him lifted him off the ground and slammed him down. He felt himself being pushed from one conciousness to another rapidly. Dreams and hopes flying by, lost and forgotten. He struggled to regain some semblance of balance as his life went flying by.

_Yuffie…_Her gunmetal grey eyes staring up at him with all the hope and luster the childlike empress held within her. He remembered how it felt to look down at her and the shock he'd felt when he'd realized how quickly something deeper had begun to develop between them...years had come and gone before he'd ever acted on his impulse...and now? The memory faded and the world shifted again.

He turned to see himself shoving the barrel of a gun down another mans throat. He saw clearly the man was crying, there was a small stain at his knees indicating his bladder had relived itself in the midst of his fright. There was a woman, she appeared to be screaming for Vincent to stop doing what he was doing. He recognized the two men holding back the girl, Tseng and Reno. Vincent's face was stoic as ever as he pulled the trigger, an explosion of red and gunpowder erupted from the victims head. He watched as Reno turned to the woman he and Tseng held fast, her struggles had all but ceased by this point as hopeless tears poured down her now pale cheeks. He noticed she was mouthing the words _'I'm so sorry.' _Over and over. Vincent watched with a sickening fascination as his clones' face changed with frightening speed from his traditional stoic calm to a horrible visage of unbridled fury as he struck down the woman, a clean shot between her pretty blue eyes.

"_Th__**I**__s i__**s **__**wH**__o __**yOu**__ ar__**E**__…" _A muffled snarl, his speech halting and uneven, completely devoid of any emotion came from the darkness. Hellmasker. He had never fully examined the weight of his actions, though now that he had the opportunity to see himself in this light he felt a strange twist in his gut. _"I__**mP**__ure…"_

'_Tainted…' _The great wolf stood before him, foam seething from his jowls.

'_**A monster…'**_ The ungainly monstrous Death Gigas slammed its massive hands down before Vincent. He stumbled back, tripping and landing on his back. It felt as if the ground fell out from under him then, he was falling endlessly and all he could think of was her eyes. The grey hazy eyes of the woman who had saved him.

It was then Vincent's world collapsed…It was Yuffie, laying beside him in crimson sheets, her moaning his name in the heat of passion she straddled something that was certainly _not_ him…_touching_ her the very same way he had. It was oddly similar to him, though the pale grayish skin, tail wrapped around her waist, and horns protruding from his forehead were a clear sign it was not him. _'Chaos.'_ The thing cast him a sideways grin full of malice as it lifted up effortlessly to let fangs and calloused lips brush against her neck as she whispered his name again, kissing and nipping the tender flesh. Vincent dropped to his knees and gasped for lungful after painful lungful of air, his heart beat wildly in his chest as visions of blood and betrayal continued to assault him.

'_**You have tainted the pure**…' _Death Gigas brought one great hand up to capture his beauty as she slept peacefully. The sound of mocking laughter and gnashing teeth threatened to drive the last vestiges of his hard earned sanity away. He cried out for her, for her touch, her lips, for the way she loved him.

'_Not without you…' _A small voice echoed. Soft and sweet, as if in answer to his plea. _'I wont...not without you, Vincent.' _He wracked his memory, yearning to hear the sweet whisper again. _'Don't die on me…I love you.' _Try as he might, he could not hold onto it, the voice slipped further and further away.

And then suddenly, when he thought himself lost to his nightmares he heard it again. _'Vinnie, Why don't we eat chocobo?' _He couldn't help the surprised laugh that sprang from him. It startled the demons, and with no small amount of joy he relished in the fact that laughter had driven them back, if only one step at a time. He tried again, another weak bark of laughter pushing them back another step.

'_You stupid, smelly, chain smoking, tea drinking, mama's boy, pie lovin'…JERK!' _He saw Yuffie screaming at Cid, furious over Leviathan only knows what. The pilot, for his part, smiled proudly down at the little ninja.

'_Do you think a cactuar would make a good pet? I think it's so cute!' _Yuffie held up a baby cactuar carefully with heavy gloves, so as not to be stuck by a wayward needle. Vincent remembered that moment very well, he'd been more nervous then than any time he'd had to face off with Hojo, Chaos, Sephiroth, or even Lucrecia. Yuffie was standing in the middle of a cactuar den, holding one of their young by its leg and laughing like crazy as it shrieked in terror. He laughed again, it was easier this time. The demons had all but fled to the darkest parts of his mind, their desires satiated for the time being. It was then he noticed the trees had returned, he was laying on his back staring up at the tree tops. Slightly mystified by the fact that absolutely no sunlight made its way into the forest.

He stood slowly, still chuckling, and attempted to pull himself together. Adjusting his cloak he noticed something slip and glide to the ground. He glanced down at the object, shocked he simply stared at it. It was the picture of himself and Yuffie staring one another down in some sort of wordless battle of supremacy. She appeared to have, for all intents and purposes, won as everyone in the background was laughing or smiling and she had the clever little grin at the corners of her mouth.

"You always had a kn-" A sound that was both beautiful and terrifying startled him out of his reverie. A series of bizarre musical notes came _crashing_ through the forest and in his direction. He had the vague desire to jump up into a tree, though figuring it to be one of his demons he opted to wait and see just what they had in store for him now.

He was not ready for this. Yuffie, on Jezebel, barreling at break neck speeds toward him. He thought for a moment he just might die. They were already gradually becoming aware of his new found desire for the young woman, they had already used Chaos and her against him once, the next step would be to create her as they did Lucrecia.

"Vince?" She flew off the chocobo, stumbling and tripping over every leaf in her way to reach him, a lunar harp held in her off hand. "VINCENT?!" She screamed in delight. He didn't bother hiding his own smile at seeing her, allowing relief to temporarily course through him. If he was going to be tortured by visions of his ninja he may as well enjoy them. She stopped short, her hands coming up in some sort of hesitant gesture. "What the hell happened to you? Leviathan, are you alright? Vincent? Answer me! VINCENT?!" He hadn't realized he'd actually been hurt until the look of joy turned to one of sheer terror and he realized a bit too late…Yuffie really _was_ standing before him. He jerked out toward her, collapsing into her arms as blood poured from his wounds.

"I…I di-didn't think you…were…real." He gasped out. She was crying now, smiling and shushing him in a very Tifa-like manner.

"I never thought I'd have to tell _you_ to shut up…" She struggled to get out through her tears. "Leviathan, Vincent…what the hell did you _do_?" Yuffie frowned as blood seeped from his shoulder, she could clearly see the bone through all the shredded tissue. "Hang on…" She sniffed, riffling through her bag and producing a mastered life materia. "Recovery." She whispered. Previously, this would have seemed unnecessary. Vincent would have rested a bit and healed himself. This time, however, he had Yuffie to contend with and he knew from past experience she was not one you refused often…if at all. She busied herself wrapping his slowly healing shoulder and carefully running delicate fingers along his side until she found his three broken ribs. She quickly, and carefully, unbuckled and removed his leather armor. She went to the task of binding his ribs as he sat against a tree unable to do more than gasp in pain.

"Seems we've reversed roles…" He whispered. She smirked ruefully though didn't look up from her work. "I apologize." He said it suddenly, as though he hadn't meant to. She froze, knowing full well what he meant.

"It's fine."

"No…it wasn't. I hurt you without knowing what I was doing…that is unforgivable." He spoke slowly.

"Seriously, hearing you say 'sorry' is almost painful. Hearing _you_ tak me on to your list of things that need forgiving and absolution hurts _more_ than seeing you all hot and heavy over Juno." Yuffie was serious, her eyes gleaming in the eerie light of the forest. "Besides…I have it on good authority that you were not _you_ at the time." She glanced back down to her own shaking hands. Slowly his hands encompassed hers and she realized with a start he was not wearing the gauntlet.

"How would you know…?" He was curious, hopeful, and nervous all at once. Her eyes shifted from his mutilated left arm to his face.

"Lucrecia." The answer hit him like a punch in the gut. "I went to her cave…she is the reason I am here…" Yuffie shuddered then, the sight of Vincent maimed so horribly made her insides twist.

"I do not understand." He felt himself getting defensive, as if it had been wrong for Yuffie to see his former lover.

Yuffie stopped and stared for a moment longer at his hand, lacing her fingers with the mangled ones of his. She lifted it slowly to her lips and placed a single kiss against each knuckle. Vincent held his breath as she turned his hand over and placed another against the inside of his wrist. With her free hand she lifted his good hand, palm up and placed it against her cheek. "She did it because we needed saving, because she loves you still…and to prove, once and for all," Yuffie brought herself close enough to feel his hot breath against her lips. "You are forgiven." She smiled softly, meeting his stone cold gaze. "Vincent Valentine…we forgive you." She closed the small gap, placing her lips against his. His eyes drifted shut, sighing as she made contact. He felt a jolt of something like electricity shoot through him as he slowly returned the gesture. He felt whole again.

"Yuffie…I-" She kissed him again and again, every time he tried to speak her lips were upon his, her hands running through his hair and trailing along the taught muscles of his back, her nails lightly tracing along as the muscles beneath rippled into action. He was suddenly filled with need and want, his basic animal instincts kicking awake. He gripped her firmly by her hips, lifting her to his lap, digging his fingers into her soft skin. She gasped aloud as he did, whispering her praise and dark desires in her native tongue. His eyes met hers, dark with lust, eyeing him seductively, one hand gripping her hip with bruising intensity while the other was buried in her hair and pulling her back down to his lips. He suddenly couldn't get enough of her.

"I need you…" He whispered against her neck, nipping the skin gently. She sighed contentedly as he maneuvered her onto her back, moving gingerly as his ribs ached in protest. She wrapped her legs around his waist, pulling him down on top of her, her lips fused to his.

He pulled back, resting his forehead against hers as he carefully lifted her black shirt up inch by inch, allowing his fingers to reacquaint themselves with her soft skin. Once the shirt was up and over her head he bent and kissed her with such tenderness she thought her heart would burst. His hands moved slowly, purposefully down to her pants, slowly unbuttoning them. As he pulled them down he shifted, sliding down and placing a soft kiss against her navel as he slowly removed them. She rose up to her knees to meet him, gingerly running her fingers along his vast multitude of scars. They sat that way for a long while, slowly redefining themselves with each touch, kiss, and caress.

Yuffie shivered slightly, the chill of the cool air nipping at her skin. Vincent smiled down at her. "You saved me." He spoke in a hushed whisper, gently moving her hair away from her eyes.

"Hn?" He thought her cute for the briefest moment, her face set in a cute pout, her eyes displaying her obvious confusion.

"Do you still want to know why we don't eat chocobo?" At that the golden Jezebel warked loudly in protest. Yuffie couldn't stop the laughter as it began to bubble up. "And _that_ is how you saved me." She smiled up at him, then collected her clothes and redressed.

"Laughter?" She managed to stand and make her way to the confused bird, whispering reassurances that she was not about to eat her best friend for lunch.

"They hate purity and joy…that is why they longed for Lucrecia. She was neither pure nor full of any such joy…her life had ended when Hojo presented his experiment to her. She bore him a son and through her son he attempted to destroy the world…to _purify_ it. She gave me Chaos to save my life and unwittingly cursed me with eternity…however, without it I would never have had you." Yuffie felt a sudden giddiness, wanting to throw herself at him and squeal in excitement. However she resigned herself to a slow smile and a chaste kiss.

"I suppose we both have something to thank her for then." Yuffie waited as Jezebel knelt slowly to allow both riders access.

Vincent smiled at that, reveling in the sudden warmth that filled him. Yuffie was grateful…_grateful_ to have him. He had never experienced such a warmth as this…and he found he wasn't scared of it.

They slowly made their way from the forest, increasing in speed as Vincent felt his strength returning. Yuffie could only imagine what Tifa would say when she showed up at Seventh Heaven with him in tow. She was probably angry at Yuffie for not calling after she'd gone into the mansion…that was almost three days ago. _'Tifa's gonna kick my ass…' _Yuffie thought wearily. Vincent's grip suddenly tightened around her waist and her worries melted away. It didn't matter if Tifa beat her to high heaven as long as she had him with her.

_**XxXxX**_

_**A/N**: There you have it...they were reunited :) One chapter left...prepare yourselves, it will be almost entirely fluff. Unless someone has a different suggestion._


	10. Love, A Beautiful Dream

_**A/N: **__Credit where credit is due, there are quotes in here from Shakespear and one from Judy Garland. I didn't mark them, but you'll know them when you see them. In the previous chapter I quoted the Merchant of Venice…C'mon, I'm not _that_ talented ;p. _

_**(**Joey, this one is yours.**)**_

_As always, I own nothing but that which passes for plot. Enjoy!_

_-Must I forget everything?! There is a bit of Atonement in here as well...I apologize.-_

* * *

It was dusk by the time the pair had reached the bar, and Yuffie was near ready to succumb to exhaustion. They clumsily dismounted an equally weary chocobo. Yuffie led Jezebel to her stall, filled the feed trough with greens and gave her feathered head a thankful pat, murmuring how grateful she truly was. He watched her as she spoke, her heavy leather riding jacket hung off her shoulders, her black shirt clung to her curves and her black cargo pants hung dangerously low. She smiled once at him before returning her attention to the bird, talking animatedly with Jezebel as she groomed her feathers and cleaned the mud clinging to her legs. The golden chocobo would wark gently in response to Yuffie's encouraging cooing and soft words, nuzzling her beak against the ninjas hip, grateful for the attention.

"We've come a long way, haven't we?" Yuffie spoke suddenly.

Vincent stood by, leaning heavily against the door to the stable and watching with an almost impassive stare as Yuffie carefully replaced the saddle and bridle to their rightful places. She turned and met his gaze, her own emotions in a sorry state of chaos.

"I thought for sure I'd failed you…" She hung her head in shame, feeling a bitter twist in her stomach as she closed her eyes and saw his face, frightened, hopeful, confused, and resigned all at once. She _had _abandoned him, just like Lucrecia.

His eyes studied her with a strange intensity she'd never seen. There was something dark and frightening hidden behind garnet hues, something extraordinarily intoxicating, it felt as though she were being lured, seduced into some dark fantasy…and with little surprise she realized she was trembling as she closed the space between them.

As she stood before him she was struck by the scent of gunpowder and musk that so uniquely defined him. She was inches from him, her eyes closing as she took in the simple feel of him being near her.

"I'm so sorry, Vincent." She didn't dare look up at him, afraid she would see his disappointment in her.

She heard the sound of his cloak rustling as he moved, melting into him as his arms slowly wrapped around her. His name left her in a hushed whisper as he buried his face in her silken hair, breathing in deeply. The very core of his being pulsed with need for the smaller woman held firmly against him.

"Do not apologize, not you." His voice was shaking ever so slightly. "You are my salvation…"

Yuffie lifted her head slowly, her eyes traveling slowly up the column of his neck and along his jaw to his lips. The taste of them still fresh in her memory. He inched toward her haltingly, as though unsure she would accept him. She felt her pulse race as his lips brushed hers and she realized then that there would never be anything or anyone she'd want more than him.

"_I _am sorry, _I _left you in the dark, _I _loved you and _I _never spoke of it…You owe me no such apology." Her breath caught in her throat as his lips brushed hers with every word.

With every attempt to deepen the kiss he pulled back just enough to deny her, though not far enough to fully break the kiss. She hummed with need as his hands began to slowly move beneath her riding jacket, lifting it off her shoulders and allowing it to fall to the ground. Yuffie lifted her small hands to his chest, attempting to unbuckle the heavy leather armor as his lips moved lower along her jaw. She gasped and sighed, hands rendered useless as his warm fingers made contact with her slightly cooler skin. He nipped at a particularly sensitive point along her collar bone, again stilling her movements and earning him a soft mewling sound. She let out a breathy moan as both hands gently cupped her breasts, thumbs teasing the taut skin. His lips captured hers in a chaste kiss as his fingers traced slow, ecstasy inducing lines along her toned stomach and lower to the buckle of her pants.

She began to pant with need, willing her hands with all her might to move, wrapping her fingers in his long pitch dark hair.

"Vincent…wha-" He nipped at her lips, silencing her momentarily. She once again leaned forward, longing for deeper contact and sighing as his lips moved away and down her neck to her pulse point. She gasped as warm hands moved down her now bare thighs, her mind reeling at the loss of pants and feeling of his strong fingers digging into the firm muscle of her legs. She hardly registered him lifting her up and shoving her back against the wall of winter blankets for the birds.

"Ple-please, I want to-to touch…" He pulled back, all movement ceasing as she struggled to speak. She saw the heady look in his eyes and was reminded of first time they'd tasted this desire. "I _need_ to touch you…" She'd hardly had time to blink has his lips were upon hers in a burning kiss, his tongue dueling with hers as her legs reflexively tightened and pulled him deeper into her. One hand wrapped in his thick hair while the other held his cheek. She moaned into the kiss as his hands were once again moving against her nearly unclothed form. Her deft fingers made quick work of the buckles and bindings of his leather, and with a small gasp of delight she let it fall to the ground, her fingers moving lightly along the muscles of his chest, delighting in the way his breath caught as she lovingly traced the scars of his past, mindful of his wounded shoulder and ribs. She tightened her legs around his waist, gasping against his lips. She sighed as his bare chest was against her, his muscles rippling enticingly as he moved and kissed along her neck, her nails digging into his shoulders.

Vincent growled against her ear, sending a delightful shudder down her spine. She breathed his name, her fingers struggling with the buckles of his leather pants as his thumbs once again found the sensitive peaks of her breasts, moving them in slow circles against the hardened flesh. Her hands gripped his biceps roughly as she let out a shallow cry, her hips bucking against his. He let out a hoarse groan, his own eyes closing at the sensation.

He quickly withdrew his hands, his eyes meeting hers as he nearly ripped the shirt off her. She gasped in shock and an overwhelming desire to feel his lips against her skin again.

He murmured her name softly as he took in her olive complexion, the beautiful splash of pink in her cheeks, and his own burning desire mirrored in her eyes. "Beautiful…" He whispered as his lips sought hers again. Then slowly moved back along her neck and lower. He lifted her higher against the wall, capturing one pert nipple between his teeth. Yuffie let out an unsteady moan, her nails digging into his skin.

He set to the task of driving her mad, teasing her with tongue and teeth. She held back for fear of making too much noise, biting her lip and covering her mouth. Vincent nipped again at her soft skin as she covered another cry.

He brought a hand up to the one covering her mouth, pulling it away as his tongue traced languid circles around one nipple, his thumb tracing the other. She cried out, gasping in shock and embarrassment.

"They cannot hear you…" His voice was dark, demanding.

"Vin-Vincent…oh, _Gods_…" She clutched his shoulders, her short fingernails digging in as her body quivered from the intensity of what he was doing.

"_I _can…let me," His lips traveled between her breasts and made a burning trail lower. "let me hear you…" Yuffie's breathing hitched as she gasped in anticipation.

Before she knew it she was practically chanting his name, writhing in ecstasy as he took his time drawing out her release. His skin was on fire, the evidence of his own need now painfully obvious. Though he didn't care, he wanted to taste her, touch her, hear her screaming his name…it was an irrational desire to prove his need for her, to _show _her in his way how he loved her. And though the physical aspect was incredible, he was at a loss for words to tell her and this was something he now knew she understood. Her skin, voice, the essence of her, it was all almost too much for him. It was a high he'd never before known, and once he'd tasted her he realized he'd never find anything that could replete his desires as she could. Nothing could quell the raging fires that would eternally burn within him like she could.

Her body shook hard against him, he glanced up in time to see her throw her head back and cry his name as her release reached its crescendo. Never had she been more beautiful than that moment. His name had never sounded so erotic as it did coming from her pink lips in the heat of passion. He stood quickly, lowering her to the ground delicately as he did. She wobbled against him, one arm wrapped tightly around her waist as he held her damp cheek, her platinum eyes locked with his own heavy lidded claret. She gasped as her hand brushed against his hardness and her eyes widened with curiosity. He simply shook his head, lifting her off her feet and carrying her to the door. The bar was dark, Cloud and Tifa had gone searching for the pair and closed the bar down in the mean time. Yuffie, however, had a spare key.

He made his way slowly toward the room he used when he came to visit, practically kicking it open. He let her stand once inside, she dropped her clothes at the foot of his bed and stood with her back to him for a moment. He had only his leather pants on, burning inside and out to simply touch her. She turned slowly toward him, her hair loose and ruffled…she was beautiful in the moonlight. His breath caught as she slowly made her way toward him, never breaking eye contact.

"Vincent?" He felt his throat tighten at the sensual tone in her voice.

"Hn?" Was all he could utter as her hands brushed against his cheek.

"I need you…" She kissed his wounded shoulder softly, something like sorrow passing over her features quickly as her fingers danced across the bandage. Her lips left a burning trail down to the star shaped scar in the center of his chest before moving toward his broken ribs. "Please…let me show you." He gasped, his eyes sliding shut as he felt his pants sliding down to the ground. He bent his head toward her lips, returning her affections with as much enthusiasm as she offered. His arms looped around her, groaning at the feel of her bare skin against his. She pulled him back toward his bed. He carefully eased her back down onto the mattress, aligning himself carefully between her shapely legs. She broke from the kiss, her eyes meeting his, smiling lovingly up at him.

His heart jumped into his throat at the sight of her bathed in moonlight, sighing as his hands continued to move on their own accord, her eyes shimmering with equal parts lust and love. He never had the acceptance she so readily offered him then, that she had always given him. It was as if he was seeing it for the fist time.

"_Vincent?_" Her voice shook unsteadily as he lay atop her, his own body positioned to delve into her inviting heaven. The look in her eyes froze him in place.

"_Yuffie…_" He was mildly surprised to hear the slight tremble of his own voice.

"I love you." She breathed. He gasped in relief and offered her a small smile, his body trembling against his own restraint.

"I love you." He repeated, his deep voice sending a chill right through her. She whimpered, her hands tightening around his neck, pulling herself up off the mattress to meet his lips. He gasped as they made contact, shocked at the ease with which he'd admitted his feelings aloud to the young woman.

"_Vincent…"_ Her voice was a whisper against his ear, enticing and seductive. She coaxed him gently with a nudge of her hips. A rumbling moan slipped past his lips as his hands held her firmly against the mattress, strong fingers digging into her hips with bruising intensity.

He was inside her then and she was crying out his name as he felt her body pulse around him. _Gods above, _did he love this woman, his light in the darkness. Her voice, her lips, the way she moaned for him, the heat and passion only he would ever know…yes, she was purely his. She'd never known the pleasures of the flesh before him, and he secretly wondered if she'd waited for him as long as he waited for her.

"_I'll follow you…" _He whispered against her ear in time with each languid thrust. Her legs reflexively tightened from the sensation as she threw her head back with another loud, erotic moan. _"I'll make a heaven out of hell…" _She mewled softly as her eyes clamped shut from the dizzying sensation.

"I love you…_I love you…_" She repeated in a breathy whisper in time with him, each thrust stronger and harder than the one before. It didn't take long, soon she felt that now familiar, delirious sensation building a second time. She felt it, every inch of her tingled in excitement as it drew nearer. She gasped his name like a mantra as she neared the edge of oblivion, urging him along with her as his hands spasmodically clawed at her hips, his own end approaching. He growled her name, Yuffie was reduced to whimpering his.

Suddenly her nails raked roughly across his back, drawing thin rivulets of blood, as her head fell back, letting loose a deep and powerful cry in ecstasy.

And Vincent roared, a rumbling, bestial cry. Her name ripping itself from his lungs as he fell into bliss right along with her. He gasped and shuddered against her quaking form, holding her as tight as he dared, willing the moment to never end.

"_I love you, Vincent…" _She moaned softly against his sweat soaked and heaving chest.

"_And I will die by your hand which I love so well…" _He closed his eyes, resting his forehead against hers, the constant stirring of demons for once was blessedly absent as he lay with her in their bed of delicious sin. _"…love so well…" _Yuffie kissed him sweetly, soft and gentle as if to calm her dark lover, the gunman who had stolen her heart a lifetime ago.

They lay wrapped in a down comforter and bathed in the moonlight, she rested her head against his chest, lulled to sleep by the steady beat of his heart. He lay awake, not out of fear of his nightmares. He was transfixed by her beauty as she slept, the soft pout of her lips and faint blush staining her cheeks. His life had been darkened with betrayal, loss, and irrefutable guilt, she was the one faint glimmer of hope in all that emptiness.

He kissed the top of her head, whispering softly against her hair. She stirred, sighing his name in her sleep. Her love was quite a thing, it was young and strong. It was her persistence that kept her ever on his mind and so begrudgingly close to his haggard and retched old heart…no, not begrudging. It was completely against his will and yet he _had_ wanted it…_Leviathan, how he had wanted her_. To have this spark of life, this silver eyed beauty who had taken all that was broken and rotten in him and made him whole…brought him back from the depths of the darkness. She strode into that nightmare, down into the darkest places where even he feared to tread, and she went bravely forward with only that incredible love for him to guide her. She conquered his demons, made light the shadow, and _still _she gave. He would never know how to repay her, how to reciprocate that kind of emotion, he would simply give of himself until he was nothing more than ashes in the wind. He would give everything he had, anything she wanted to keep her in his arms and near his heart. Eternity had threatened to break them, but tonight he managed to stave off that fear.

Smiling to himself he glanced down at her face one more, untouched by the weariness of old age, young and vibrant still. He felt a certain pang in his heart at knowing she may very well die before he could, she was frail in that respect. He wished he could age with her, to see them grow old and, as morbid as he knew it sounded…to die at her side.

Sighing contentedly he let his head rest against the headboard, closing his eyes momentarily. If not for his extended life, his immortality as it were, he would have never lived to see this night.

"Thank you…for that…" He whispered to her, knowing that somehow she would hear him.

'_Vincent…' _He heard her voice, echoing faintly in his memory. He smiled, she sounded different, at peace with herself finally. His eyes fluttered, as if trying to wake himself, though he held fast to the dream. Something warm was suddenly gripped in his palm, it was light and feather soft. Blinking slowly as he felt her presence vanish again he noticed Yuffie still slept, her hands flinching as he shifted his weight. He held up his hand, inspecting what looked to be a tuft of pale orange phoenix down. It was a single feather, or rather fire dancing in the shape of a feather. It did not burn, nor was it cold.

"What is…?" The fire began to dance and change shape again, he gasped as he felt something in the back of his mind stir. As if she could sense his distress, Yuffie was awake and alert in an instant, her hands resting against his ribs, her palladium eyes locking with startled crimson. There was the briefest glint of panic there, she took a slow breath as she brought one small hand to his cheek.

"Breathe…" She whispered, her voice echoing Lucrecia's thoughts. He closed his eyes, focusing on the fire swirling, changing shape and color to their shared surprise. His mind began to reel, it felt like the very life was being sucked out of him by this tiny dancing spark of a flame. _"Breathe…" _Yuffie urged gently, her hands smoothing themselves against his chest, cradling his face as he took in another shallow breath.

The small flame grew brighter and warmer with every gasp, glowing as radiantly as the first rays of dawn and then in a flash of brilliance it was gone and Vincent lay panting and confused beyond all reason.

"What…what was that?" He asked a softly smiling Yuffie.

"It was a dream…" She replied quietly, placing a soothing kiss against the corner of his mouth. "Just a dream." She pulled herself up so her forehead rested against his as her fingers traced lazy circles against his shoulders. He shuddered as her slight frame settled against his, her body a comforting weight as he lay shocked and feeling suddenly bereft of some unnamable emotion. He searched his heart and soul, longing to know what the fire had taken from him and finding nothing.

He gave a startled gasp, startling the young woman. "Yuffie…they're gone." She stared a moment, and for the briefest second he thought himself crazy. She watched him, a slow realization reaching her eyes as he began to smile, truly _smile_ at her. "They…are _gone._" He breathed, her lips trembling as tears of joy brimmed behind her eyes. "The beasts no longer lurk within me." He took in a shaky breath. "She's taken them from me…" She gasped as he spoke. "_Gone."_ He stared at his now empty palm in wonder.

"Oh, Vincent…" She let a happy sob slip, his smile sending warmth through her down to her toes. She kissed him for all she was worth, not sure she could trust her voice not to break. She hadn't been expecting this, Lucrecia had only told her she could drive them back into his subconscious. Maybe…_maybe_ she'd taken them once Yuffie had sent them running. Either way, Yuffie sent out thousands of silent prayers of thanks to Leviathan and Lucrecia, thanking them for blessing her so.

"Thank you…" He whispered against Yuffie's hair, her grip tightening just slightly. She knew he was thanking her, too. It was _her_ who had done the last part of it all, she had pulled the remaining three demons from him. He closed his eyes, Yuffie cradled protectively in his arms, and slept.

* * *

Tifa and Cloud arrived early the next morning after having spent the last few days away from the empty bar. Tifa couldn't stand to be there knowing her friends were lost…or worse.

She walked in, startled by the warmth she felt as she crossed the threshold. Glancing around she first noticed a fire had been started recently, upon further inspection she noticed Yuffie's black riding jacket hanging haphazardly off a chair and beside it…Vincent's cloak. Tifa gasped, her knees feeling weak and yet she dove for the stairs, driven by the all consuming need to see if what she saw was true. She ran down the hall, flinging Yuffie's door open wide.

Tifa let out a small, anguished cry to find it empty and essentially unused. She collapsed to her knees, tears flowing freely as she clung to the door frame, her shoulders shaking with each sob.

Outside, Cloud noticed Jezebel had returned. She was groomed and fed, warking happily at the sight of him. He took a few tentative steps toward her, her golden feathers glittered in the early light and she showed no signs of fatigue. He walked toward the stables, the door was slightly ajar. Inside he noticed a pair of winter blankets had fallen to the ground. Without thinking too much of it, Cloud carefully lifted them and replaced them against the wall.

A flash of crimson at his feet caught his eye, he glanced and realized with a start he was standing on Vincent's crimson headband. He sighed wearily, wondering if this were a cruel joke or if they had truly come here. With another heavy sigh he bent and collected the cloth before slowly heading toward the home he shared with Tifa.

Tifa bit back the bitter tears of defeat, so lost in her grief she did not hear the deep baritone asking if she were alright or notice the black hair pooling with her own. A hand jarred her from her misery, thinking it to be Cloud she placed a hand on his. Immediately she realized it was not. This hand was larger, stronger in a way. Slowly she turned her head, noticing this hands pale color as opposed to Cloud's slightly darker tone. She lifted her head just enough to realize the hair falling around her eyes was in fact not hers. Her breath caught then, as concern etched clearly through a pair of crimson eyes staring back at her.

"_Vincent…_?" She gasped, shock written as plain as day across her face. He nodded slowly, his grip tightening slightly as she again started to cry. "Oh God's above, you _are _alive!" She wailed, throwing her arms around his neck, sobbing against his hair.

She felt a smaller hand carefully take her own, burgundy meeting silver, and she quickly leapt from Vincent's arms to Yuffie's. "I swear on Jenova's unholy soul, if either of you ever…_**ever**_ pull a stunt like this again, you'll be wishing Sephiroth _had_ won." She laughed through her tears, Yuffie felt tears of her own burning her eyes, agreeing enthusiastically that she wouldn't leave again.

"We are home…here to stay." Yuffie whispered into her hair. "I promise, Tifa." Vincent placed a hand on Tifa's shoulder, nodding his agreement with Yuffie.

Cloud came through the door, hearing nothing but Tifa's tears he ran up the stairs prepared to offer her whatever comfort he could. "Sweet mother of Gaia…you're-" He didn't finish as Yuffie had launched herself toward him, nearly sending the pair down the stairs, if not for the quick hand of Vincent. Cloud closed his eyes, hugging his friend close. He released her, clapping Vincent on the shoulder as he did. "You did it again." He stated as calmly as he could.

"I apologize." Vincent replied with a simple nod.

"Did you figure it out?" Cloud's eyes flickered to Yuffie and back to the gunman.

"We did." Cloud sensed something passed between the two, they shared a brief hint of a smile before turning back to Cloud. "I assure you, I will not be leaving again any time soon." With that the four made their way down stairs to the kitchen where Yuffie had begun to prepare breakfast. It had always been her philosophy that full stomachs made for a happy heart.

She decided to cook for Tifa and Cloud as Vincent explained what had happened. Every so often she would catch Vincent's eye and offered a secret smile in his direction, his lips would tip up in his barely there smirk as his eyes greedily took in the sight of her in her as she moved about the kitchen.

Tifa had assured Vincent that Juno had taken none of what happened to heart, she had not counted on the additional influence of three demons long thought dead. Tifa frowned at the solemn expression both Yuffie and Vincent wore in that instant, demanding someone tell her just what Juno wasn't upset about. Yuffie shook her head quietly as Vincent artfully dodged the question by moving on to something Cloud had asked about earlier.

Breakfast was a long, drawn out, affair. They had all praised Yuffie's culinary skill and eaten their fill. Cloud sat out on the patio with Vincent, mulling over the events of the last few months. They sat in a comfortable silence, neither having much to say to the other. Tifa and Yuffie sat above them on the roof, as the ninja had a fondness for high places. Yuffie told of her traveling to find Vincent, of meeting Lucrecia…she spoke little of what Vincent had said to her, he was quiet and private, what was said was meant for her ears alone. Tifa marveled at the change between her friends, saying something along the lines of "Took you two long enough" and laughing good naturedly. She was happy, beyond happy that Vincent had found serenity in the arms of the young former heir of Wutai.

Tifa excused herself a short while later, as the chill drove the two women back inside, and left to her room with a gently smiling swordsman. As he passed Yuffie he turned, embracing her in a sudden show of brotherly love. He thanked her for coming home, she knew he thanked her for much more…though she wouldn't push him just to hear it said.

"Thank you, Yuffie…for coming home." His eyes glittered like the shores of Costa Del Sol and spoke volumes he chose to keep silent. _'Thank you for giving him peace and love…for bringing _him_ home.'_ They had all spent many a sleepless night over Vincent when he'd been lost for the time following Omega's defeat. Cloud mostly, Yuffie would sleep through the second reckoning if she could help it. Screw crazy aliens and purity challenged madmen. However, when Vincent had been gone…She'd stayed up late, begging Leviathan and the infinite stars to guide him back to them.

Yuffie stood silently in the center of the living room, unaware Vincent was mere inches behind her. She stared out the large window, smiling softly to the brightly painted heavens that had answered her prayers all those years ago.

He smiled at her sharp intake of breath as his hand snaked around her lithe waist. His lips left a searing trail along her shoulder, ending at her ear.

"When I saw you I fell in love…" She whispered as he buried his face against her neck. She turned slowly, her illustrious silver eyes shinning with all she felt for him. "…and you smiled because you knew."

Vincent's lips were upon hers as she was melting into him.

"Yuffie…" His lips turned up into the most beautiful smile she'd ever seen. "It was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart." She felt warm tears trail down her cheeks as his deep voice reverberated within her. "It was not my lips you kissed," His lips molded to hers in a slow and sensual dance. "but my soul." She gasped, her eyes alight with all her love for him. "I will love you, today, tomorrow…I have always loved you and will for the rest of time. I am yours, for as long as you will have me."

"Forever…Vincent, I would have you forever." Tears poured down her cheeks, disappearing into his hair and against his clothes. "I love you, I love you…God's above, Vincent, do I love you. With my first and last breath, I love…you." Her lips shakily met his, pouring her heart and soul into him. The very essence of her seeping into him.

They remained that way a long while, held in each others arms, not caring who may see them. His love was delirium, heaven, surely she would never survive without it…addicted, mind, body, and soul to him as he was to her.

XxXxX

_**-Fin-**_

_Of all my chapters, this is the one I am most proud of. It is dedicated to the author who inspired me, Valentine'sNinja, to Star Anise for sticking by all this time, and of course to Sorceress Fujin who's been an endless source of encouragement. Thank you everyone for all the kind reviews and helpful criticism. This has been a great story to write, hopefully you all enjoyed it as much as I did. _

_On another note, everyone should run to you tube and check out katethegreat19. Her voice is incredible, she wrote lyrics to Aerith's theme and I have to say…it's the most beautiful song I've heard in a long time. If you want to find it and can't, let me know and I'll send you a link. FF net doesn't allow for that here :(_


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